How severe is CVE-2017-5668?

CVE-2017-5668 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-2017-5668 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-2017-5668?

CVE-2017-5668 primarily affects Bitlbee. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-5668?

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-2017-5668 published?

CVE-2017-5668 was published on 2017-03-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-5668

CVE-2017-5668 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Bitlbee 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-476.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (86th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Bitlbee
Published: 2017-03-14
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

bitlbee-libpurple before 3.5.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a file transfer request for a contact that is not in the contact list. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10189.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-5668?: bitlbee-libpurple before 3.5.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a file transfer request for a contact that is not in the contact list. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-10189.
How severe is CVE-2017-5668?: CVE-2017-5668 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-2017-5668 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-2017-5668?: CVE-2017-5668 primarily affects Bitlbee. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-5668?: 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-2017-5668 published?: CVE-2017-5668 was published on 2017-03-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:a:bitlbee:bitlbee:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:bitlbee:bitlbee-libpurple:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Bitlbee

CVE-2012-1187 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Bitlbee does not drop extra group privileges correctly in unix.c
CVE-2016-10188 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Use-after-free vulnerability in bitlbee-libpurple before 3.5 allows remote servers to cause a denial of service (crash)…
CVE-2016-10189 — High (CVSS 7.5): BitlBee before 3.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) and…
CVE-2008-3920 — High (CVSS 7.5): Unspecified vulnerability in BitlBee before 1.2.2 allows remote attackers to "recreate" and "hijack" existing accounts…
CVE-2008-3969 — Medium (CVSS 5.0): Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in BitlBee before 1.2.3 allow remote attackers to "overwrite" and "hijack"…

All CVEs affecting Bitlbee →

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-36648 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The hardware emulation in the of_dpa_cmd_add_l2_flood of rocker device model in QEMU, as used in 7.0.0 and earlier,…
CVE-2020-14500 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Secomea GateManager all versions prior to 9.2c, An attacker can send a negative value and overwrite arbitrary data.
CVE-2010-2495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The pppol2tp_xmit function in drivers/net/pppol2tp.c in the L2TP implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.34 does…
CVE-2026-46195 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: validate dacloffset before building…
CVE-2026-31657 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: hold claim backbone gateways by…
CVE-2026-31436 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor…

Browse all CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities →