# CVE-2017-15870: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local administrators can escalate privileges to SYSTEM via image path execution hijacking in the GlobalProtect Agent.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Dec 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hh94-w64v-333x

## What is CVE-2017-15870?

CVE-2017-15870 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 Dec 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect Agent before 4.0.3 allows attackers with administration rights on the local station to gain SYSTEM privileges via vectors involving "image path execution hijacking."

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15870?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Paloaltonetworks Globalprotect.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15870?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-15870 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-15870 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15870 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2025-4232](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-4232/): GlobalProtect: Authenticated Code Injection Through Wildcard on macOS (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2021-3057](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3057/): GlobalProtect App: Buffer Overflow Vulnerability When Connecting to Portal or Gateway (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-0009](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0009/): GlobalProtect App: Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-0016](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0016/): GlobalProtect App: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability When Using Connect Before Logon (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2025-0120](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0120/): GlobalProtect App: Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-15870 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15870 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 11 Dec 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15870 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15870/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15870/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15870
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15870
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15870

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15870/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.