Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-0367
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMediawiki before 1.28.1 / 1.27.2 contains an unsafe use of temporary directory, where having LocalisationCache directory default to system tmp directory is insecure.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMediaWiki before versions 1.28.1 and 1.27.2 uses an insecure default temporary directory for LocalisationCache storage, falling back to the system-wide /tmp directory. This exposes the application to symlink attacks and race condition exploitation, as /tmp is typically world-writable and predictable, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate cached localization files and potentially achieve code execution if those files are subsequently included.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 7.0>= 1.27.0, < 1.27.2>= 1.28.0, < 1.28.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify MediaWiki versionCheck the version file in your MediaWiki installation (e.g., includes/Defines.php or the Special:Version page in the web interface). Compare the version number to the affected ranges: >= 1.27.0 and < 1.27.2, or >= 1.28.0 and < 1.28.1.Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 1.27.0 to 1.27.1, or 1.28.0 to 1.28.0.
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Locate LocalisationCache configurationExamine your LocalSettings.php file for any $wgLocalisationCacheConf setting, and check the includes/cache/localisation/LocalisationCache.php file to understand the default storage path behavior.Affected if No custom $wgLocalisationCacheConf is defined and the code defaults to using the system temp directory.
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Verify the cache directory in useCheck the actual directory being used by LocalisationCache. Look for the 'class' and 'store' options in $wgLocalisationCacheConf. If using the default FileCache, inspect the 'storeDirectory' setting or the fallback behavior that uses sys_get_temp_dir().Affected if The cache directory is set to the system temp directory (/tmp) or is not explicitly configured to use a secure, application-specific directory.
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Inspect filesystem permissions on the cache directoryRun 'ls -la' on the directory reported by the LocalisationCache (either your configured directory or /tmp). Check if the directory is world-writable and has predictable naming patterns.Affected if The cache directory is world-writable (permissions like 1777) or the cache files are stored in /tmp with predictable filenames.
You are affected if you run MediaWiki versions 1.27.0-1.27.1 or 1.28.0 and have not configured a secure, application-specific directory for LocalisationCache storage.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data1.27.21.28.1
Configure LocalisationCache to use a secure, application-specific directory outside the system temp directory with restricted permissions (e.g., chmod 755 in MediaWiki's cache/ directory), and ensure proper ownership.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0367 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-0367 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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