HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2017-17805

HIGH

CVE-2017-17805

CWE-20Published: December 20, 2017· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

The Salsa20 encryption algorithm in the Linux kernel before 4.14.8 does not correctly handle zero-length inputs, allowing a local attacker able to use the AF_ALG-based skcipher interface (CONFIG_CRYPTO_USER_API_SKCIPHER) to cause a denial of service (uninitialized-memory free and kernel crash) or have unspecified other impact by executing a crafted sequence of system calls that use the blkcipher_walk API. Both the generic implementation (crypto/salsa20_generic.c) and x86 implementation (arch/x86/crypto/salsa20_glue.c) of Salsa20 were vulnerable.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2017-17805 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

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 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.Low

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Canonical1 product(s)

ubuntu linux

Debian1 product(s)

debian linux

Linux1 product(s)

linux kernel

openSUSE1 product(s)

leap

opensuse_project1 product(s)

leap

SUSE3 product(s)

linux enterprise desktoplinux enterprise serverlinux enterprise server for raspberry pi

Source: NVD CPE · 13 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

Security advisories & exploits

Official NIST entry

CVE Program entry

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttp://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500e

PATCHhttps://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500e

PATCHhttp://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500e

PATCHhttps://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500e

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00006.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00007.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00008.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00014.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00016.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102291

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2948

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3083

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3096

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2473

ADVISORYhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/01/msg00004.html

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-3/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3620-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3620-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3632-1/

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4073

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4082

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00006.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00007.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00008.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00014.html

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00016.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102291

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2948

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3083

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3096

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2473

ADVISORYhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/01/msg00004.html

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-3/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3620-1/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3620-2/

ADVISORYhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/3632-1/

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4073

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4082

All References (48)

→

http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500ePatch

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00006.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00007.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00008.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00014.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2018-01/msg00016.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102291Third Party Advisory · VDB Entry

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:2948Third Party Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3083Third Party Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3096Third Party Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2473Third Party Advisory

→

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ecaaab5649781c5a0effdaf298a925063020500ePatch

→

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/01/msg00004.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

https://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-1/Third Party Advisory

→

https://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-2/Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2017-17805

CVSS Score7.8 / 10

SeverityHIGH

WeaknessCWE-20

CISA KEVNo

Affected6 vendor(s)

PublishedDec 20, 2017

Related CVEs (CWE-20)

Recommended Actions

→Apply vendor patches immediately
→Monitor CVE-2017-17805 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.

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