How severe is CVE-2017-15271?

CVE-2017-15271 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.9, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-15271 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 9% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-15271?

CVE-2017-15271 affects Psftp Psftpd. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-15271?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2017-15271 published?

CVE-2017-15271 was published on 2017-11-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-15271

CVE-2017-15271 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Psftp Psftpd with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.9. 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-416.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.9)
CVSS v2: 4.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 9% (95th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Psftp Psftpd
Published: 2017-11-15
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A use-after-free issue could be triggered remotely in the SFTP component of PSFTPd 10.0.4 Build 729. This issue could be triggered prior to authentication. The PSFTPd server did not automatically restart, which enabled attackers to perform a very effective DoS attack against this service. By sending a crafted SSH identification / version string to the server, a NULL pointer dereference could be caused, apparently because of a race condition in the window message handling, performing the cleanup for invalid connections. This incorrect cleanup code has a use-after-free.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-15271?: A use-after-free issue could be triggered remotely in the SFTP component of PSFTPd 10.0.4 Build 729. This issue could be triggered prior to authentication. The PSFTPd server did not automatically restart, which enabled attackers to perform a very effective DoS attack against this service. By sending a crafted SSH identification / version string to the server, a NULL pointer dereference could be caused, apparently because of a race condition in the window message handling, performing the cleanup for invalid connections. This incorrect cleanup code has a use-after-free.
How severe is CVE-2017-15271?: CVE-2017-15271 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.9, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-15271 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 9% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-15271?: CVE-2017-15271 affects Psftp Psftpd. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-15271?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2017-15271 published?: CVE-2017-15271 was published on 2017-11-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:psftp:psftpd:10.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Psftp Psftpd

CVE-2017-15272 — Medium (CVSS 5.3): The PSFTPd 10.0.4 Build 729 server stores its configuration inside PSFTPd.dat. This file is a Microsoft Access Database…
CVE-2017-15270 — Medium (CVSS 5.3): The PSFTPd 10.0.4 Build 729 server does not properly escape data before writing it into a Comma Separated Values (CSV)…
CVE-2017-15269 — Medium (CVSS 4.3): The PSFTPd 10.0.4 Build 729 server does not prevent FTP bounce scans by default. These can be performed using "nmap -b"…

All CVEs affecting Psftp Psftpd →

Other CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-13782 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Use after free in Browser in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the…
CVE-2026-4725 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Graphics: Canvas2D component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 149…
CVE-2026-4688 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Disability Access APIs component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox…
CVE-2025-24085 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3,…
CVE-2024-43102 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Concurrent removals of certain anonymous shared memory mappings by using the UMTX_SHM_DESTROY sub-request of…
CVE-2021-32495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Radare2 has a use-after-free vulnerability in pyc parser's get_none_object function. Attacker can read freed memory…

Browse all CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities →