# CVE-2017-17455: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Attackers can force Mahara to use HTTP instead of HTTPS via man-in-the-middle attacks, bypassing SSL encryption even when certificates are present.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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:** 20 Feb 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7fh7-mv59-556w

## What is CVE-2017-17455?

CVE-2017-17455 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mahara Mahara, published on 20 Feb 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Mahara 16.10 before 16.10.7, 17.04 before 17.04.5, and 17.10 before 17.10.2 are vulnerable to being forced, via a man-in-the-middle attack, to interact with Mahara on the HTTP protocol rather than HTTPS even when an SSL certificate is present.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-17455?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mahara Mahara.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-17455?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-17455 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-17455 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-17455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Mahara Mahara

- [CVE-2022-45134](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45134/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-44544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-44544/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-40849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40849/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000152](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000152/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-1000153](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000153/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-17455 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-17455 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Mahara Mahara, published on 20 Feb 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-2017-17455 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Mahara Mahara. 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-2017-17455/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17455/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-17455
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-17455
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-17455

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-17455/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.