# CVE-2017-7509: Denial of service in Certificate System

> Attackers can cause a denial of service in Red Hat Certificate System by submitting certificates with missing certreq fields, triggering an assertion error.

- **Severity:** Low 3.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2v3w-p5pg-rgxq, RHSA-2017:2560

## What is CVE-2017-7509?

CVE-2017-7509 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Red Hat Certificate System, published on 26 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An input validation error was found in Red Hat Certificate System's handling of client provided certificates before 8.1.20-1. If the certreq field is not present in a certificate an assertion error is triggered causing a denial of service.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-7509?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `pki-ca` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.9-2.el5pki |
| `pki-common` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.20-1.el5pki |
| `pki-common-javadoc` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.20-1.el5pki |
| `pki-kra` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.7-2.el5pki |
| `pki-silent` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.2-3.el5pki |
| `pki-tps` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.30-1.el5pki |
| `pki-util` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.3-2.el5pki |
| `pki-util-javadoc` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.3-2.el5pki |
| `redhat-pki-ca-ui` | Red Hat:certificate_system:8::el5 | All versions | 0:8.1.1-2.el5pki |

Products: Redhat Certificate System.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-7509?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-7509 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7509 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Red Hat Certificate System

- [CVE-2013-1886](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1886/): Other in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2009-0588](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0588/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2010-3868](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3868/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2012-3367](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3367/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2013-1885](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1885/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-7509 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-7509 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Red Hat Certificate System, published on 26 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7509 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Certificate System. 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-2017-7509/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7509/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7509
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7509
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-7509

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7509/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.