# CVE-2017-16046: Supply chain in mariadb node module

> A malicious npm module hijacked environment variables, potentially allowing attackers to execute code or steal sensitive data from dependent applications.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024

## What is CVE-2017-16046?

CVE-2017-16046 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 4 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

`mariadb` was a malicious module published with the intent to hijack environment variables. It has been unpublished by npm.

Weakness: CWE-506 (Embedded Malicious Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16046?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mariadb Mariadb.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16046?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-16046 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-16046 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16046 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mariadb Mariadb

- [CVE-2026-49261](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-49261/): MariaDB server has unsafe parameter handling in `wsrep_notify_cmd` (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-85746](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85746/): MariaDB: Out-of-bound buffer write on in `ST_AsText` of nested GeometryCollections (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-85748](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-85748/): MariaDB: Use-after-free with a large number of SYS_REFCURSOR's (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2026-92262](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-92262/): MariaDB: Numerous issues caused by historical #mysql50# tablename encoding bypass. (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2023-26785](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26785/): Code injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16046 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16046 is a high-severity vulnerability in Mariadb Mariadb, published on 4 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16046 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mariadb Mariadb. 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-2017-16046/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16046/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16046
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16046
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16046

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16046/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.