Path Traversal in S-Nail Project

CVE-2017-5899

Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

EPSS: 0.010 (59.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

  • cve@mitre.org (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST)
  • cve@mitre.org (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-5899?
CVE-2017-5899 is a high-severity vulnerability in S-Nail Project, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.0/10. Published 2017-03-27.
How severe is CVE-2017-5899?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.0 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-5899 known to be exploited?
5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.