# CVE-2017-6590: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A local attacker with physical access can execute arbitrary commands as the lightdm user via the NetworkManager applet on the login screen.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Mar 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-6590, GHSA-wrx7-qm3p-qw79, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-6590, openSUSE-SU-2024:10603-1

## What is CVE-2017-6590?

CVE-2017-6590 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 9 Mar 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in network-manager-applet (aka network-manager-gnome) in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, 14.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS, and 16.10. A local attacker could use this issue at the default Ubuntu login screen to access local files and execute arbitrary commands as the lightdm user. The exploitation requires physical access to the locked computer and the Wi-Fi must be turned on. An access point that lets you use a certificate to login is required as well, but it's easy to create one. Then, it's possible to open a nautilus window and browse directories. One also can open some applications such as Firefox, which is useful for downloading malicious binaries.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-6590?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-6590?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-6590 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6590 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-6590 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-6590 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 9 Mar 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6590 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2017-6590/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6590/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6590
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6590
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-6590

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6590/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.