HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2017-15088
CRITICAL

CVE-2017-15088

CWE-121Published: November 23, 2017· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8
CVSS v3.1

Official 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.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2017-15088 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

mit1 product(s)
kerberos 5
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1504045
PATCHhttps://github.com/krb5/krb5/commit/fbb687db1088ddd894d975996e5f6a4252b9a2b4
PATCHhttps://github.com/krb5/krb5/pull/707
PATCHhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1504045
PATCHhttps://github.com/krb5/krb5/commit/fbb687db1088ddd894d975996e5f6a4252b9a2b4
PATCHhttps://github.com/krb5/krb5/pull/707
ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101594
ADVISORYhttps://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=871698
ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101594
ADVISORYhttps://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=871698

All References (10)

→
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101594Third Party Advisory · VDB Entry
→
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=871698Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1504045Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/krb5/krb5/commit/fbb687db1088ddd894d975996e5f6a4252b9a2b4Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/krb5/krb5/pull/707Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101594Third Party Advisory · VDB Entry
→
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=871698Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1504045Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/krb5/krb5/commit/fbb687db1088ddd894d975996e5f6a4252b9a2b4Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
https://github.com/krb5/krb5/pull/707Patch · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2017-15088
CVSS Score9.8 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-121
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedNov 23, 2017

Related CVEs (CWE-121)

CVE-2026-42996
10.0
CVE-2026-12846
10.0
CVE-2026-12485
10.0
CVE-2026-12847
10.0
CVE-2020-14498
10.0
CVE-2026-37541
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2017-15088 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
← All Vulnerabilities·Search for CVE-2017-15088·NVD