What is CVE-2017-17856?

CVE-2017-17856 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119). CVE-2017-17856 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2017-17856?

CVE-2017-17856 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2017-17856?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2017-17856. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2017-17856 actively exploited?

CVE-2017-17856 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/119.html

CVE-2017-17856

High

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 the lack of stack-pointer alignment enforcement.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2017-12-27

Last modified 2026-05-13

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-119

CVE-2017-17856 is a Buffer Overflow vulnerability

What is Buffer Overflow?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2017-17856 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/12/21/2

Mailing List Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=a5ec6ae161d72f01411169a938fa5f8baea16e8f
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/a5ec6ae161d72f01411169a938fa5f8baea16e8f
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2017-17856

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2017-12-27

Modified 2026-05-13

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-17856?

CVE-2017-17856 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119) . CVE-2017-17856 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2017-17856?

CVE-2017-17856 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2017-17856?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2017-17856. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2017-17856 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2017-17856 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. View CWE-119 on MITRE CWE →