# CVE-2017-6967: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Incorrect PAM session initialization in xrdp allows attackers to bypass security limits and potentially escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Mar 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-6967, DLA-872-1, GHSA-3fgq-wvwm-xq86, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-6967

## What is CVE-2017-6967?

CVE-2017-6967 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Mar 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

xrdp 0.9.1 calls the PAM function auth_start_session() in an incorrect location, leading to PAM session modules not being properly initialized, with a potential consequence of incorrect configurations or elevation of privileges, aka a pam_limits.so bypass.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-6967?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Neutrinolabs Xrdp.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-6967?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-6967 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-6967 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2026-41252](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41252/): xrdp: lib_palette_update Heap Buffer Overflow & RCE (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-32105](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32105/): xrdp: RDP MAC signature (dataSignature) never verified on receive — integrity bypass in non-TLS mode (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-44178](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44178/): xrdp: Channel Data Forwarding Fixed-Size Buffer Overflow (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-32107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32107/): xrdp: Fail-open privilege drop in sesexec — child processes may execute as root if setuid fails (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-33689](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33689/): xrdp: Pre-authentication out-of-bounds reads in channel parsers (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-6967 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-6967 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Mar 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-2017-6967 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2017-6967/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6967/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6967
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6967
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-6967

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6967/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.