What is CVE-2017-17855?

CVE-2017-17855 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2017-12-27.

How severe is CVE-2017-17855?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Buffer overflow in Linux Kernel

CVE-2017-17855

kernel/bpf/verifier.c in the Linux kernel through 4.14.8 allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact by leveraging improper use of pointers in place of scalars.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2017-12-27 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (33.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-06.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 34th percentile — 33.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel
Debian Linux — versions 9.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-119 — Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

References

www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/12/21/2 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/ (Vendor Advisory)
github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/179d1c5602997fef5a940c6ddcf31212cbfebd14 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-17855?: CVE-2017-17855 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2017-12-27.
How severe is CVE-2017-17855?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.