Is CVE-2019-25017 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2019-25017 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2019-25017 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2019-25017 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-25017?

CVE-2019-25017 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (MEDIUM).

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MEDIUM

CVE-2019-25017

CWE-863Published: February 2, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

5.9

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in rcp in MIT krb5-appl through 1.0.3. Due to the rcp implementation being derived from 1983 rcp, the server chooses which files/directories are sent to the client. However, the rcp client only performs cursory validation of the object name returned (only directory traversal attacks are prevented). A malicious rcp server (or Man-in-The-Middle attacker) can overwrite arbitrary files in the rcp client target directory. If recursive operation (-r) is performed, the server can manipulate subdirectories as well (for example, to overwrite the .ssh/authorized_keys file). This issue is similar to CVE-2019-6111 and CVE-2019-7283. NOTE: MIT krb5-appl is not supported upstream but is shipped by a few Linux distributions. The affected code was removed from the supported MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) product many years ago, at version 1.8.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2019-25017 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 full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 5.9.