Buffer overflow in Shadow Project

CVE-2017-12424

In shadow before 4.5, the newusers tool could be made to manipulate internal data structures in ways unintended by the authors. Malformed input may lead to crashes (with a buffer overflow or other memory corruption) or other unspecified behaviors. This crosses a privilege boundary in, for example, certain web-hosting environments in which a Control Panel allows an unprivileged user account to create subaccounts.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

EPSS: 0.027 (84.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Third Party Advisory, Issue Tracking)
  • cve@mitre.org (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO)
  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Third Party Advisory, Issue Tracking)
  • cve@mitre.org (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-12424?
CVE-2017-12424 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Shadow Project, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2017-08-04.
How severe is CVE-2017-12424?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-12424 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.