# CVE-2017-9079: Path traversal in n/a

> Local attackers can read arbitrary files as root via symlink following in authorized_keys, leading to information disclosure and potential privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2017-9079, DEBIAN-CVE-2017-9079, DLA-948-1, GHSA-j5rr-cpp9-c4r6, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9079

## What is CVE-2017-9079?

CVE-2017-9079 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 19 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Dropbear before 2017.75 might allow local users to read certain files as root, if the file has the authorized_keys file format with a command= option. This occurs because ~/.ssh/authorized_keys is read with root privileges and symlinks are followed.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-9079?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-9079?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-9079 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-9079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-9079 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-9079 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 19 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-9079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2017-9079/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9079/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9079
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9079
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-9079

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9079/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.