CVE-2017-11672
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 · uneditedThe OPC Foundation Local Discovery Server (LDS) before 1.03.367 is installed as a Windows Service without adding double quotes around the opcualds.exe executable path, which might allow local users to gain privileges.
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 confidenceThe OPC Foundation Local Discovery Server (LDS) installer creates a Windows service without enclosing the executable path in double quotes. This allows path hijacking: if the path contains spaces and a local attacker places a malicious executable in an earlier directory in the path, it will be executed with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges instead of the legitimate opcualds.exe.
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< 1.03.367CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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.
-
Check if OPC LDS service is installedOpen Services console (services.msc) and look for a service named 'OPC Local Discovery Server' or run 'sc query' to enumerate services and find one related to OPC or LDSAffected if No OPC Local Discovery Server service is found - the product is not installed
-
Determine installed LDS versionLocate the opcualds.exe binary (typically in C:\Program Files\OPC Foundation\LDS\ or similar), right-click and view Properties, or run 'opcualds.exe -version' if supported, to obtain the version numberAffected if Version is 1.03.367 or higher - the vulnerability is patched in this and later versions
-
Inspect service ImagePath registry valueOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OPC Local Discovery Server (adjust service name if different), locate the ImagePath string value and examine itAffected if The ImagePath value contains spaces in the directory path but is NOT enclosed in double quotes (for example: C:\Program Files\OPC Foundation\LDS\opcualds.exe without quotes)
-
Verify service runs with elevated privilegesIn Services console, double-click the OPC Local Discovery Server service and check the 'Log on as' setting, or run 'sc qc "OPC Local Discovery Server"' to confirm it runs as Local System or SYSTEM accountAffected if Service runs as Local System account AND the ImagePath is unquoted - the path hijacking condition is exploitable
User is affected if OPC Foundation LDS is installed with version below 1.03.367 and the service ImagePath in the Windows registry contains spaces but is not enclosed in double quotes, allowing an attacker with local write access to a directory in the path to execute code as SYSTEM.
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 data1.03.367
Either upgrade to OPC Foundation LDS version 1.03.367 or later where the issue is fixed, or manually correct the service configuration in the Windows registry to add double quotes around the full executable path.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-11672 — 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-2017-11672 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data