How severe is CVE-2017-15088?

CVE-2017-15088 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-15088 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 8% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-15088?

CVE-2017-15088 affects Mit Kerberos 5. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-15088?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2017-15088 published?

CVE-2017-15088 was published on 2017-11-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-15088

CVE-2017-15088 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Mit Kerberos 5 with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 8% (94th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Mit Kerberos 5
Published: 2017-11-23
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

plugins/preauth/pkinit/pkinit_crypto_openssl.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.15.2 mishandles Distinguished Name (DN) fields, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) in situations involving untrusted X.509 data, related to the get_matching_data and X509_NAME_oneline_ex functions. NOTE: this has security relevance only in use cases outside of the MIT Kerberos distribution, e.g., the use of get_matching_data in KDC certauth plugin code that is specific to Red Hat.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-15088?: plugins/preauth/pkinit/pkinit_crypto_openssl.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.15.2 mishandles Distinguished Name (DN) fields, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) in situations involving untrusted X.509 data, related to the get_matching_data and X509_NAME_oneline_ex functions. NOTE: this has security relevance only in use cases outside of the MIT Kerberos distribution, e.g., the use of get_matching_data in KDC certauth plugin code that is specific to Red Hat.
How severe is CVE-2017-15088?: CVE-2017-15088 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-15088 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 8% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-15088?: CVE-2017-15088 affects Mit Kerberos 5. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-15088?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2017-15088 published?: CVE-2017-15088 was published on 2017-11-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:mit:kerberos_5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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