Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2017-17458

In Mercurial before 4.4.1, it is possible that a specially malformed repository can cause Git subrepositories to run arbitrary code in the form of a .git/hooks/post-update script checked into the repository. Typical use of Mercurial prevents construction of such repositories, but they can be created programmatically.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from mercurial, from debian organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2017, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2017-12-07T18:29:00.203

Last Modified

2025-04-20T01:37:25.860

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-78

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	mercurial	mercurial	< 4.4.1	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	8.0	Yes

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102926 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://bz.mercurial-scm.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5730 Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://confluence.atlassian.com/sourcetreekb/sourcetree-security-advisory-2018-01-24-942834324.html Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2017/12/msg00027.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00005.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00041.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00032.html ([email protected])
https://www.mercurial-scm.org/pipermail/mercurial-devel/2017-November/107333.html Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.mercurial-scm.org/wiki/WhatsNew#Mercurial_4.4.1_.282017-11-07.29 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102926 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bz.mercurial-scm.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5730 Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://confluence.atlassian.com/sourcetreekb/sourcetree-security-advisory-2018-01-24-942834324.html Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2017/12/msg00027.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00005.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00041.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00032.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.mercurial-scm.org/pipermail/mercurial-devel/2017-November/107333.html Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.mercurial-scm.org/wiki/WhatsNew#Mercurial_4.4.1_.282017-11-07.29 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For mercurial's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.