CVE-2017-17562
Embedthis GoAhead Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- High 8.1
- Exploited: added to CISA KEV 10 Dec 2021
- A public exploit reference is listed
Description
Embedthis GoAhead before 3.6.5 allows remote code execution if CGI is enabled and a CGI program is dynamically linked. This is a result of initializing the environment of forked CGI scripts using untrusted HTTP request parameters in the cgiHandler function in cgi.c. When combined with the glibc dynamic linker, this behaviour can be abused for remote code execution using special parameter names such as LD_PRELOAD. An attacker can POST their shared object payload in the body of the request, and reference it using /proc/self/fd/0.
Key facts
- Published
- 12 Dec 2017
- Last changed
- 21 Oct 2025
- Assigned by
- mitre
- KEV added
- 10 Dec 2021
- KEV fix due
- 10 Jun 2022
- EPSS
- 97.127% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 99.894% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
- SSVC (CISA)
- Exploitation: active; Automatable: no; Technical impact: total
Severity scores
Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.
- 8.1CVSS 3.1, Highfrom CISA (ADP container)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
What to do
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.CISA KEV required action
Historical context and remediation
This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.
No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.
Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| n/a | n/a |
|
Timeline
- 12 Dec 2017 Published
- 10 Dec 2021 CVE-2017-17562 added to CISA KEV
- 10 Dec 2021 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue