CVE-2017-5899
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx)...
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
CVE-2017-5899- CVSS 3.0
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.9 Medium
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-22, CWE-362
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
CVE-2017-5899- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2017-14974 No score
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
EUVD-2017-14974- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-42jr-32cj-2c5c
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx)...
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
GHSA-42jr-32cj-2c5c- CVSS 3.0
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
CVE-2017-5899- CVSS 3.0
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2017-5899
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2017-5899- CVSS 3.0
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2017-5899
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2017-5899- CVSS 3.0
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4820-1 No score
s-nail vulnerability
It was discovered that S-nail incorrectly handled paths. An attacker could possible use this issue to write arbitrary files and escalate privileges.
- Record
USN-4820-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
s-nailDebian:12 |
before 14.8.16-1 | 14.8.16-1 |
s-nailDebian:13 |
before 14.8.16-1 | 14.8.16-1 |
s-nailDebian:14 |
before 14.8.16-1 | 14.8.16-1 |
s-nailUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
before 14.8.6-1ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions 14.8.5-114.8.5-214.8.5-314.8.5-414.8.5-514.8.6-1 |
14.8.6-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | S-nail < 14.8.16 - Local Privilege Escalation | 2019-01-13 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2017-5899 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.0) in S-nail Project S-nail, published March 27, 2017. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.98%, the 62nd percentile. Fixed in s-nail 14.8.16-1.
References
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/02/07/4
mail-archive.com/s-nail-users%40lists.sourceforge.net/msg00551.html
securityfocus.com/bid/96138
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5899
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github.com/advisories/GHSA-42jr-32cj-2c5c
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-5899
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5899
git.sdaoden.eu/cgit/s-nail.git/commit?id=f797c27efecad45af191c518b7f87fda32ada160
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-5899