# CVE-2017-7537: Hardcoded credentials in pki-core

> An attacker can bypass authentication using hardcoded credentials in a default plugin to trick the CA server into issuing unauthorized certificates.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-7537, GHSA-x46g-cxp8-8wjm, RHSA-2017:2335, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-7537

## What is CVE-2017-7537?

CVE-2017-7537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, published on 26 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

It was found that a mock CMC authentication plugin with a hardcoded secret was accidentally enabled by default in the pki-core package before 10.6.4. An attacker could potentially use this flaw to bypass the regular authentication process and trick the CA server into issuing certificates.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials), CWE-592 (DEPRECATED: Authentication Bypass Issues)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-7537?

It affects 4 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `pki-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base-java` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-ca` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-kra` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-symkey` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-tools` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base-java` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-ca` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-kra` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-symkey` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-tools` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base-java` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-ca` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-kra` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-symkey` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-tools` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-base-java` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-ca` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-core-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-javadoc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-kra` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-server` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-symkey` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |
| `pki-tools` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:10.4.1-11.el7 |

Products: Dogtagpki Dogtagpki, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-7537?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-7537 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7537 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop

- [CVE-2021-20179](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-20179/): Business logic in pki-core (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2021-3551](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3551/): Information disclosure in pki-server (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-2414](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2414/): XML external entity in Dogtag PKI (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-1080](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1080/): Auth bypass in pki-core (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2020-15720](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15720/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-7537 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-7537 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, published on 26 Jul 2018. 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-2017-7537 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop. 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-2017-7537/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7537/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7537
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7537
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-7537

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7537/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.