# CVE-2017-6690: Path traversal in Cisco StarOS

> An authenticated remote attacker can overwrite or modify arbitrary files on Cisco ASR 5000 routers via a file check operation vulnerability.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jun 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-39wf-75mq-q4p3

## What is CVE-2017-6690?

CVE-2017-6690 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco StarOS, published on 13 Jun 2017. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the file check operation of Cisco ASR 5000 Series Aggregated Services Routers running the Cisco StarOS operating system could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to overwrite or modify arbitrary files on an affected system. More Information: CSCvd73726. Known Affected Releases: 21.0.v0.65839 21.3.M0.67005. Known Fixed Releases: 21.4.A0.67087 21.4.A0.67079 21.4.A0.67013 21.3.M0.67084 21.3.M0.67077 21.3.M0.66994 21.3.J0.66993 21.1.v0.67082 21.1.V0.67083.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-6690?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Asr 5000 Software.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-6690?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-6690 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-6690 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6690 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco StarOS

- [CVE-2017-6729](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6729/): Denial of service in Cisco StarOS (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2016-6455](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6455/): Denial of service in Cisco StarOS 18.x through 21.x (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2016-1436](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1436/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-6773](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6773/): Command injection in StarOS for ASR 5000 Series Aggregated Services Routers (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2017-6775](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6775/): Privilege escalation in StarOS for ASR 5000 Series Aggregated Services Routers (medium 5.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-6690 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-6690 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Cisco StarOS, published on 13 Jun 2017. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6690 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco StarOS. 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-2017-6690/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6690/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6690
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6690
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-6690

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6690/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.