CVE-2017-5938 Cross-site scripting in n/a

What is CVE-2017-5938?

CVE-2017-5938 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 15 Mar 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the nav_path function in lib/viewvc.py in ViewVC before 1.0.14 and 1.1.x before 1.1.26 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the nav_data name.

Weakness: CWE-79

Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-5938?

It affects 4 products.

Products include Debian Debian Linux, Opensuse Leap, Opensuse Project Leap, Viewvc Viewvc.

How do I fix CVE-2017-5938?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Escape output for the context it lands in and set a strict Content Security Policy. Upgrading the affected component is the real fix. More about Cross-site scripting.

Is CVE-2017-5938 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

• CVE-2015-3306 ProFTPD Improper Access Control Exploited Critical 10.0
• CVE-2025-49113 RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data Exploited Critical 9.9
• CVE-2026-24061 GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2025-39682 Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2024-9680 Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free Exploited Critical 9.8

All Debian Debian Linux vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as CVE-2017-1000019, DLA-820-1, DSA-3784-1, GHSA-3h2f-w6h5-7wr8, MGASA-2017-0048, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-5938.