CVE-2017-12720
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 · uneditedAn Improper Access Control issue was discovered in Smiths Medical Medfusion 4000 Wireless Syringe Infusion Pump, Version 1.1, 1.5, and 1.6. The FTP server on the pump does not require authentication if the pump is configured to allow FTP connections.
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 Smiths Medical Medfusion 4000 Wireless Syrine Infusion Pump (versions 1.1, 1.5, and 1.6) contains an improper access control vulnerability where the embedded FTP server does not require authentication when the pump is configured to allow FTP connections. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to access the FTP service and potentially manipulate pump configurations or exfiltrate sensitive data.
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= 1.1= 1.5= 1.6CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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 Medfusion 4000 pumps in your environmentReview asset inventory, network scans, or medical device records to locate Smiths Medical Medfusion 4000 Wireless Syringe Infusion Pumps. Check device labels or management interfaces for model identification.Affected if Any Medfusion 4000 pump is present in the network inventory
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Determine the installed firmware versionAccess the pump's clinical interface or management console and navigate to the software/firmware version information screen. Compare the displayed version number against the affected versions: 1.1, 1.5, and 1.6.Affected if The pump firmware version is 1.1, 1.5, or 1.6
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Check if FTP server is enabledAccess the pump configuration settings (typically via the clinical interface under network or connectivity settings) and inspect whether the FTP server feature is turned on or configured for operation.Affected if FTP server is enabled or configured on the pump
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Verify FTP network accessibilityPerform a network port scan (typically TCP port 21) from a host on the same network segment to confirm the FTP service is reachable. Use telnet or nmap to test connectivity to the pump's IP address on port 21.Affected if FTP port 21 responds and accepts connections from an unauthenticated network host
You are affected if you have a Medfusion 4000 pump running firmware version 1.1, 1.5, or 1.6 with the FTP server feature enabled and accessible on the network.
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 dataDisable the FTP server feature on the Medfusion 4000 pump if not operationally required; otherwise, apply vendor-supplied firmware updates and implement network segmentation to restrict access to trusted hosts only.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12720 — 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-2017-12720 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