Ubuntu ImageApplication · Canonical
CVE-2017-10600
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 · uneditedubuntu-image 1.0 before 2017-07-07, when invoked as non-root, creates files in the resulting image with the uid of the invoking user. When the resulting image is booted, a local attacker with the same uid as the image creator has unintended access to cloud-init and snapd directories.
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 confidenceubuntu-image 1.0 before July 7, 2017 creates files in generated disk images with the UID of the non-root user who invokes the tool, instead of proper system users (root). This causes sensitive directories like cloud-init and snapd to be owned by the invoking user's UID, allowing any local attacker with matching UID to access these privileged directories when the image is booted.
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
Ubuntu ImageApplication
= 1.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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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Check installed ubuntu-image versionRun 'dpkg -l ubuntu-image' or 'ubuntu-image --version' to determine the version numberAffected if Version is 1.0 and was released before July 7, 2017 (check with 'apt-cache policy ubuntu-image' for date)
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Identify if ubuntu-image was run as non-rootReview command history or logs for instances where 'ubuntu-image' was executed without sudo/root privilegesAffected if ubuntu-image was invoked by a non-root user account (check with 'id' to see current user UID)
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Locate generated disk image filesSearch for .img, .qcow2, or disk image files created by ubuntu-image in home directories, build directories, or /var/tmp/Affected if Disk images exist that were built using the vulnerable ubuntu-image version
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Inspect file ownership in generated imagesMount the generated disk image and run 'ls -la' on /var/lib/cloud, /var/lib/snapd, or /etc/cloud/ and /etc/snapd to check UID ownership of files and directoriesAffected if Files or directories within cloud-init or snapd paths are owned by a non-root UID (typically the UID of the user who ran ubuntu-image)
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Compare image UID to system usersCheck if the UID owning sensitive directories in the mounted image matches any local user account with 'id <UID>' or 'getent passwd <UID>'Affected if The UID owning cloud-init or snapd directories in the image matches a non-privileged local user account
A user is affected if they used ubuntu-image version 1.0 (pre-July 7, 2017) as a non-root user to generate disk images, resulting in sensitive directories in those images being owned by their non-root UID.
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 dataRun ubuntu-image as root when building images, or upgrade to version 1.0+ released after 2017-07-07 which properly sets file ownership to root/system users.
Fix this in Ubuntu Image
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 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-2017-10600 — 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-2017-10600 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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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