# CVE-2017-6885: Privilege escalation in FlexNet Manager Suite

> Attackers can exploit improper handling of external commands in FlexNet Manager Suite to gain elevated privileges on the system.

- **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:** 16 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j428-6834-f6ch

## What is CVE-2017-6885?

CVE-2017-6885 is a critical vulnerability in Flexera Software LLC FlexNet Manager Suite, published on 16 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An error when handling certain external commands and services related to the FlexNet Inventory Agent and FlexNet Beacon of the Flexera Software FlexNet Manager Suite 2017 before 2017 R1 and 2014 R3 through 2016 R1 SP1 can be exploited to gain elevated privileges.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-6885?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Flexerasoftware Flexnet Manager Suite.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-6885?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-6885 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-6885 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-6885 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-6885 is a critical vulnerability in Flexera Software LLC FlexNet Manager Suite, published on 16 May 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Flexera Software LLC FlexNet Manager Suite. 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-2017-6885/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6885/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6885
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6885
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-6885

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6885/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.