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NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

CVE-2017-12166: OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly…

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 3.6% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 89.7% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: openvpn (Debian:12) 2.4.4-1; openvpn (Debian:9) 2.4.0-6+deb9u4; openvpn (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 2.5.3-1.2.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to openvpn (Debian:12) 2.4.4-1; openvpn (Debian:9) 2.4.0-6+deb9u4; openvpn (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 2.5.3-1.2 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code execution.

Published
Oct 3, 2017
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
3.6% · 89th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

40

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 3.6%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
openvpnopenvpn
debiandebian linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux9.0
  • openvpn openvpnbefore 2.3.18
  • openvpn openvpn2.4.0 and later · before 2.4.4

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12openvpnbefore 2.4.4-12.4.4-1
Debian:9openvpnbefore 2.4.0-6+deb9u42.4.0-6+deb9u4
openSUSE:Tumbleweedopenvpnbefore 2.5.3-1.22.5.3-1.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3openvpnbefore 2.0.9-143.47.3.12.0.9-143.47.3.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11-SECURITYopenvpn-openssl1before 2.3.2-0.10.3.12.3.2-0.10.3.1
SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 6openvpnbefore 2.3.8-16.20.12.3.8-16.20.1

Same product

openvpn: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2024-27903OpenVPN plug-ins on Windows with OpenVPN 2.6.9 and earlier could be loaded from any directory, which allows an attacker to load an…
    42Plan
  • CVE-2023-46850Use after free in OpenVPN version 2.6.0 to 2.6.6 may lead to undefined behavoir, leaking memory buffers or remote execution when sending…
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-0547OpenVPN 2.1 until v2.4.12 and v2.5.6 may enable authentication bypass in external authentication plug-ins when more than one of them makes…
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-7521Jun 27, 2017 · OpenVPN versions before 2.4.3 and before 2.3.17 are vulnerable to remote denial-of-service due to memory exhaustion caused by memory leaks…
    24Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-7522Jun 27, 2017 · OpenVPN versions before 2.4.3 and before 2.3.17 are vulnerable to denial-of-service by authenticated remote attacker via sending a…
    28Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2018-7544Mar 16, 2018 · A cross-protocol scripting issue was discovered in the management interface in OpenVPN through 2.4.5.
    37Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:openvpn2.4.4-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:openvpn2.5.3-1.2 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
suse:openvpn2.0.9-143.47.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3Package registry (OSV)
suse:openvpn-openssl12.3.2-0.10.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11-SECURITYPackage registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records