How severe is CVE-2017-17973?

CVE-2017-17973 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-17973 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-17973?

CVE-2017-17973 affects Libtiff. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-17973?

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

When was CVE-2017-17973 published?

CVE-2017-17973 was published on 2017-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-17973

CVE-2017-17973 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libtiff with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. 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-416.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
CVSS v2: 6.8
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Libtiff
Published: 2017-12-29
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In LibTIFF 4.0.8, there is a heap-based use-after-free in the t2p_writeproc function in tiff2pdf.c. NOTE: there is a third-party report of inability to reproduce this issue

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-17973?: In LibTIFF 4.0.8, there is a heap-based use-after-free in the t2p_writeproc function in tiff2pdf.c. NOTE: there is a third-party report of inability to reproduce this issue
How severe is CVE-2017-17973?: CVE-2017-17973 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-17973 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (86th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-17973?: CVE-2017-17973 affects Libtiff. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-17973?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2017-17973 published?: CVE-2017-17973 was published on 2017-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:libtiff:libtiff:4.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Libtiff

CVE-2004-0929 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Heap-based buffer overflow in the OJPEGVSetField function in tif_ojpeg.c for libtiff 3.6.1 and earlier, when compiled…
CVE-2004-1308 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Integer overflow in (1) tif_dirread.c and (2) tif_fax3.c for libtiff 3.5.7 and 3.7.0 allows remote attackers to execute…
CVE-2016-9540 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tools/tiffcp.c in libtiff 4.0.6 has an out-of-bounds write on tiled images with odd tile width versus image width.…
CVE-2016-9539 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tools/tiffcrop.c in libtiff 4.0.6 has an out-of-bounds read in readContigTilesIntoBuffer(). Reported as MSVR 35092.
CVE-2016-9538 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tools/tiffcrop.c in libtiff 4.0.6 reads an undefined buffer in readContigStripsIntoBuffer() because of a uint16 integer…
CVE-2016-9537 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tools/tiffcrop.c in libtiff 4.0.6 has out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities in buffers. Reported as MSVR 35093, MSVR…

All CVEs affecting Libtiff →

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 →