Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-12197
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 · uneditedIt was found that libpam4j up to and including 1.8 did not properly validate user accounts when authenticating. A user with a valid password for a disabled account would be able to bypass security restrictions and possibly access sensitive information.
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 · moderate confidencelibpam4j up to version 1.8 has an authentication bypass vulnerability where the library validates password correctness but fails to check account status (enabled/disabled). Users with valid passwords for disabled accounts can successfully authenticate, bypassing security controls intended to lock out disabled users.
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= 8.0= 9.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
= 6.0<= 1.8CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Locate libpam4j library in your environmentSearch for the libpam4j JAR file in your application directory, lib folders, or dependency cache. Check build configuration files (pom.xml, build.gradle, package manifests) for libpam4j as a dependency.Affected if libpam4j library is present and used for authentication in your application.
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Identify the installed version of libpam4jExamine the libpam4j JAR manifest file (META-INF/MANIFEST.MF) for the Implementation-Version attribute, or check your dependency management system for the version number of the libpam4j dependency.Affected if The version is 1.8 or lower.
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Verify if authentication flow relies on libpam4jReview your application code and configuration to determine if PAM authentication is performed through libpam4j (typically by calling the Authenticator class or similar PAM authentication methods).Affected if Your application uses libpam4j to authenticate users against system PAM.
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Confirm account status validation in authentication logicInspect the authentication implementation to determine whether account status (enabled/disabled/locked) is checked separately from password validation. This may involve checking account status via PAM or other means before or after calling libpam4j.Affected if Your application authenticates solely through libpam4j without performing independent account status verification, or account status checking is absent entirely.
You are affected if your environment uses libpam4j version 1.8 or earlier for authentication and does not independently verify account status (enabled/disabled) outside of what the library provides.
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 dataUpgrade libpam4j to a version newer than 1.8 where account status validation is properly implemented. If upgrade is not immediately possible, implement account status checking in the application layer before calling libpam4j authentication.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12197 — 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-2017-12197 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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