CVE-2017-20229

Severity CVSS v4.0:

CRITICAL

Type:

CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write

Publication date:

28/03/2026

Last modified:

02/04/2026

Description

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 overflows the stack buffer and execute a return-oriented programming chain to spawn a shell with application privileges.

Impact

Vector 4.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N CVSS v4.0 Severity and Metrics:

Base Score: 9.30 CRITICAL
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector (AV): Network
Attack Complexity (AC): Low
Attack Requirements (AT): None
Privileges Required (PR): None
User Interaction (UI): None
Confidentiality (VC): High
Integrity (VI): High
Availability (VA): High
Confidentiality (SC): None
Integrity (SI): None
Availability (SA): None

Base Score 4.0

9.30

Severity 4.0

CRITICAL

Vector 3.x

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H CVSS v3.1 Severity and Metrics:

Base Score: 9.80 CRITICAL
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector (AV): Network
Attack Complexity (AC): Low
Privileges Required (PR): None
User Interaction (UI): None
Scope (S): Unchanged
Confidentiality (C): High
Integrity (I): High
Availability (A): High