# CVE-2017-15997: Weak cryptography in n/a

> An attacker with local access can decrypt stored user credentials due to the use of a static RC4 key in the NQ Contacts Backup & Restore Android application.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Oct 2017
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9q6r-crw3-948m

## What is CVE-2017-15997?

CVE-2017-15997 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Oct 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the "NQ Contacts Backup & Restore" application 1.1 for Android, RC4 encryption is used to secure the user password locally stored in shared preferences. Because there is a static RC4 key, an attacker can gain access to user credentials more easily by leveraging access to the preferences XML file.

Weakness: CWE-327 (Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-15997?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nq Contacts Backup \& Restore.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-15997?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-15997 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-15997 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-15997 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-15999](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15999/): Weak cryptography in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-15998](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15998/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-15997 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-15997 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Oct 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-2017-15997 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-2017-15997/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15997/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15997
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15997
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-15997

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15997/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.