CVE-2017-5899 Path traversal in n/a
Local attackers can exploit a directory traversal flaw in the S-nail setuid helper to write arbitrary files and gain root privileges.
- 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
What is CVE-2017-5899?
CVE-2017-5899 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 Mar 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-5899?
It affects 1 product.
Products include S-Nail Project S-Nail.
How do I fix CVE-2017-5899?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2017-5899 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5899 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2017-5899, GHSA-42jr-32cj-2c5c, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-5899, USN-4820-1.