CVE-2017-12479
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 discovered that an issue in the session logic in Unitrends Backup (UB) before 10.0.0 allowed using the LOGDIR environment variable during a web session to elevate an existing low-privilege user to root privileges. A remote attacker with existing low-privilege credentials could then execute arbitrary commands with root 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 session logic in Unitrends Backup versions before 10.0.0 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where the LOGDIR environment variable can be manipulated during an authenticated web session to elevate an existing low-privilege user's privileges to root, allowing arbitrary command execution with root privileges.
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<= 9.1CVSS 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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Confirm Unitrends Backup installationIdentify if Unitrends Backup software is present on the system by checking installed programs, services, or common installation directories for Unitrends-related binaries or services.Affected if Unitrends Backup is installed and the version is 9.1 or lower.
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Determine installed versionLocate and read the Unitrends Backup version information, typically accessible through the web interface, help/about section, or command-line version query if available.Affected if The installed version is 9.1 or any version lower than 10.0.0.
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Assess web session accessibilityDetermine if the Unitrends Backup web interface is exposed and accessible. Check network accessibility, firewall rules, and authentication configuration for the web service.Affected if The web interface is accessible to untrusted or unauthorized users.
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Review session configurationExamine the session management configuration files or settings for the web application, looking for environment variable handling related to LOGDIR or similar session-based parameters.Affected if The session configuration allows manipulation of environment variables like LOGDIR during an authenticated session.
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Audit existing user privilegesReview current user accounts and their privilege levels within the Unitrends Backup system, particularly any low-privilege accounts that could be exploited.Affected if There are authenticated low-privilege users present in the system who should not have elevated access.
You are affected if Unitrends Backup version 9.1 or lower is installed and the web interface is accessible to users who could manipulate session environment variables to escalate privileges to root.
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 Unitrends Backup to version 10.0.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict web session access to trusted users and monitor for suspicious session behavior.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12479 — 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-2017-12479 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data