CVE-2017-17946
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 · uneditedA buffer overflow in Handy Password 4.9.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long "Title name" field in "mail box" data that is mishandled in an "Open from mail box" action.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Handy Password 4.9.3 where parsing of 'mail box' data fails to properly validate the length of the 'Title name' field. When a user opens a specially crafted mail box file containing an overly long Title name, the unchecked copy operation overwrites adjacent memory, enabling arbitrary code execution.
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= 4.9.3CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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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Verify Handy Password installationCheck for Handy Password installation directory, typically in Program Files or Program Files (x86), and look for handy.exe or similar executable files.Affected if The application is installed in the system
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Determine installed versionRight-click the executable (handy.exe or similar), select Properties, and check the Version tab for the product version. Alternatively, launch the application and look for version information in the Help or About menu.Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.9.3
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Identify mail box file usageLook for .mbx or mail box data files in the application data directory, typically found in user AppData folders under the Handy Password profile.Affected if Mail box files exist and have been opened or created by the user
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Inspect mail box file structureOpen a mail box file in a hex editor and examine the data structure around the Title name field. The vulnerable field is the Title name within the mail box file format.Affected if A mail box file contains an overly long Title name field (typically exceeding expected buffer boundaries)
A user is affected if Novosoft Handy Password version 4.9.3 is installed AND mail box files from untrusted sources have been opened, as the buffer overflow requires parsing a crafted mail box file with an oversized Title name field.
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 dataDo not open mail box files from untrusted sources. If a vendor patch becomes available, apply it promptly. Consider using alternative password management solutions if the vendor does not provide security updates.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-17946 — 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-2017-17946 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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