Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2017-5180

Firejail before 0.9.44.4 and 0.9.38.x LTS before 0.9.38.8 LTS does not consider the .Xauthority case during its attempt to prevent accessing user files with an euid of zero, which allows local users to conduct sandbox-escape attacks via vectors involving a symlink and the --private option.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from firejail_project 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

2017-02-09T18:59:00.127

Last Modified

2025-04-20T01:37:25.860

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-862

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	firejail_project	firejail	< 0.9.44.4	Yes
Application	firejail_project	firejail	< 0.9.38.8	Yes

References

http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/01/04/2 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95298 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://firejail.wordpress.com/download-2/release-notes/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-62 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/01/04/2 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95298 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://firejail.wordpress.com/download-2/release-notes/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-62 Third Party 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 firejail_project'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.