CVE-2017-17408
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Bitdefender Internet Security 2018. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within cevakrnl.xmd. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in an integer overflow before allocating a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-5101.
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 confidenceAn integer overflow vulnerability in Bitdefender Internet Security 2018's cevakrnl.xmd kernel driver allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code under SYSTEM context. The flaw results from improper validation of user-supplied data before buffer allocation. Exploitation requires user interaction—visiting a malicious webpage or opening a malicious file.
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<= 73447CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Bitdefender Internet Security 2018 is installedOpen Programs and Features in Control Panel or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell to query registry keys under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for entries containing 'Bitdefender Internet Security'Affected if No Bitdefender Internet Security 2018 entry is found in installed programs
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Identify the installed Bitdefender versionWithin the Bitdefender program folder, look for a version file or use the product's built-in 'About' function. The version number should be visible in the main interface or in the program's metadataAffected if The installed version number is 73447 or lower
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Verify the cevakrnl.xmd driver is presentCheck the Bitdefender installation directory (typically under C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\) for the presence of the cevakrnl.xmd file or any related kernel driver filesAffected if The cevakrnl.xmd driver file exists in the Bitdefender installation folder
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Assess user exposure to untrusted contentDetermine whether users have the ability to visit arbitrary websites or open files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires user interaction (visiting a malicious webpage or opening a malicious file)Affected if Users can access untrusted web content or open files without restrictions
The environment is affected if Bitdefender Internet Security 2018 version 73447 or lower is installed with the cevakrnl.xmd driver present and users can interact with untrusted web content or files.
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 dataApply the vendor-supplied Bitdefender security update or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version. Until patched, limit user exposure to untrusted web content and files.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-17408 — 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-2017-17408 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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