What is CVE-2017-20229?

CVE-2017-20229 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Mawk, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-03-28.

How severe is CVE-2017-20229?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Buffer overflow in Mawk

CVE-2017-20229

MAWK 1.3.3-17 and prior contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting inadequate boundary checks on user-supplied input. Attackers can craft malicious input that overflow…

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

EPSS: 0.001 (28.8th 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

Mawk — versions 1.3.3-17

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-787 — Out-of-bounds Write

References

ExploitDB-42357 (exploit)
VulnCheck Advisory: MAWK 1.3.3-17 Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (third-party-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-20229?: CVE-2017-20229 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Mawk, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-03-28.
How severe is CVE-2017-20229?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.