CVE-2017-17533
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 · unediteddefault.tcl in Tkabber 1.1 does not validate strings before launching the program specified by the BROWSER environment variable, which might allow remote attackers to conduct argument-injection attacks via a crafted URL. NOTE: a third party has indicated that the attack cannot occur because of the argument-parsing behavior of the Tcl exec function
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 confidenceTkabber 1.1's default.tcl script does not validate strings before using the BROWSER environment variable in an exec call to launch a browser, potentially allowing argument injection via crafted URLs. However, a third party notes that Tcl's exec function argument-parsing behavior may prevent actual exploitation.
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= 1.1CVSS 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
- 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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Verify Tkabber installation and versionRun 'pkg-config --modversion tkabber' or check the application's about/version info. Also check for default.tcl in the Tkabber installation directory.Affected if Tkabber version is exactly 1.1 or the installed version matches the affected range (1.1)
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Locate the default.tcl scriptSearch for default.tcl in the Tkabber installation directory, typically under lib/tkabber or share/tkabber in the application root.Affected if default.tcl exists and contains code that references the BROWSER environment variable
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Inspect BROWSER variable usage in exec callsOpen default.tcl and search for patterns like 'exec $env(BROWSER)' or similar uses of the BROWSER environment variable in exec commands without validation.Affected if The BROWSER environment variable is used directly in an exec call without input validation
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Check for input validation on BROWSERReview default.tcl for any validation or sanitization code applied to the BROWSER variable before the exec call, such as string isalnum checks or list conversion.Affected if No validation code is found before the exec call uses the BROWSER variable
A user is affected if running Tkabber 1.1 with default.tcl present, where the BROWSER environment variable is used in exec calls without validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement proper input validation for the BROWSER environment variable before use in exec calls, or use a safer method such as tcl's {*}$args expansion which treats arguments as a list rather than a single string.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,848.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-17533 — 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-2017-17533 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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- 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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