# CVE-2017-16667: Command injection in n/a

> An attacker can execute arbitrary shell commands by crafting a specific filename, exploiting improper escaping in the notification plugin of the Back in Time backup tool.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-16667, GHSA-pv66-pfcm-qv9x, MGASA-2018-0059, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-16667

## What is CVE-2017-16667?

CVE-2017-16667 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Nov 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

backintime (aka Back in Time) before 1.1.24 did improper escaping/quoting of file paths used as arguments to the 'notify-send' command, leading to some parts of file paths being executed as shell commands within an os.system call in qt4/plugins/notifyplugin.py. This could allow an attacker to craft an unreadable file with a specific name to run arbitrary shell commands.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16667?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Backintime Project Backintime.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16667?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-16667 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16667 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-7572](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7572/): Race condition in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16667 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16667 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Nov 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16667 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-2017-16667/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16667/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16667
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16667
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16667

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16667/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.