# CVE-2017-18044: Command injection in n/a

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges via crafted messages to the Commvault cvd daemon.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Jan 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xr74-c8hv-6762

## What is CVE-2017-18044?

CVE-2017-18044 is a critical command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A Command Injection issue was discovered in ContentStore/Base/CVDataPipe.dll in Commvault before v11 SP6. A certain message parsing function inside the Commvault service does not properly validate the input of an incoming string before passing it to CreateProcess. As a result, a specially crafted message can inject commands that will be executed on the target operating system. Exploitation of this vulnerability does not require authentication and can lead to SYSTEM level privilege on any system running the cvd daemon. This is a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-3195.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-18044?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Commvault Commvault.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-18044?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-18044 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-18044 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-18044 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Commvault-CVE-2017-18044 (github_poc): https://github.com/securifera/CVE-2017-18044-Exploit
- Commvault Communications Service (cvd) Command Injection (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2025-34028](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-34028/): Commvault Command Center Path Traversal (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-3928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-3928/): Commvault Web Server Unspecified (high 8.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-77089](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-77089/): Command Center API Authentication Bypass (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-13737](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13737/): Command Restriction Bypass (critical 9.2)
- [CVE-2026-13738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13738/): Improper Authorization Validation (critical 9.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-18044 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-18044 is a critical command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-18044 exists.

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-2017-18044/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18044/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-18044
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-18044
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-18044

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-18044/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.