How severe is CVE-2017-6972?

CVE-2017-6972 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-2017-6972 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 15% (96th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-6972?

CVE-2017-6972 primarily affects Alienvault Ossim. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-6972?

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-2017-6972 published?

CVE-2017-6972 was published on 2017-03-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-6972

CVE-2017-6972 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Alienvault Ossim with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 15% places it in the 96th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-273.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 10.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 15% (96th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-273
Affected product: Alienvault Ossim
Published: 2017-03-22
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

AlienVault USM and OSSIM before 5.3.7 and NfSen before 1.3.8 have an error in privilege dropping and unnecessarily execute the NfSen Perl code as root, aka AlienVault ID ENG-104945, a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-6970 and CVE-2017-6971.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-6972?: AlienVault USM and OSSIM before 5.3.7 and NfSen before 1.3.8 have an error in privilege dropping and unnecessarily execute the NfSen Perl code as root, aka AlienVault ID ENG-104945, a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-6970 and CVE-2017-6971.
How severe is CVE-2017-6972?: CVE-2017-6972 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-2017-6972 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 15% (96th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-6972?: CVE-2017-6972 primarily affects Alienvault Ossim. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-6972?: 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-2017-6972 published?: CVE-2017-6972 was published on 2017-03-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (3)

cpe:2.3:a:alienvault:ossim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:alienvault:unified_security_management:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nfsen:nfsen:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Alienvault Ossim

CVE-2016-7955 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The logcheck function in session.inc in AlienVault OSSIM before 5.3.1, when an action has been created, and USM before…
CVE-2017-6971 — High (CVSS 8.8): AlienVault USM and OSSIM before 5.3.7 and NfSen before 1.3.8 allow remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary…
CVE-2017-6970 — High (CVSS 8.4): AlienVault USM and OSSIM before 5.3.7 and NfSen before 1.3.8 allow local users to execute arbitrary commands in a…
CVE-2009-3439 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) before 2.1.2 allow remote…
CVE-2009-3441 — Medium (CVSS 5.0): Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) before 2.1.2 allows remote attackers to bypass authentication, and…
CVE-2009-3440 — Medium (CVSS 4.3): Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) before 2.1.2 allows…

All CVEs affecting Alienvault Ossim →

Other CWE-273 vulnerabilities

CVE-2015-0278 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): libuv before 0.10.34 does not properly drop group privileges, which allows context-dependent attackers to gain…
CVE-2023-34844 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Play With Docker < 0.0.2 has an insecure CAP_SYS_ADMIN privileged mode causing the docker container to escape.
CVE-2021-36372 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In Apache Ozone versions prior to 1.2.0, Initially generated block tokens are persisted to the metadata database and…
CVE-2020-24361 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): SNMPTT before 1.4.2 allows attackers to execute shell code via EXEC, PREXEC, or unknown_trap_exec.
CVE-2011-3350 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): masqmail 0.2.21 through 0.2.30 improperly calls seteuid() in src/log.c and src/masqmail.c that results in improper…
CVE-2011-2921 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): ktsuss versions 1.4 and prior has the uid set to root and does not drop privileges prior to executing user specified…

Browse all CWE-273 vulnerabilities →