Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2017-18121
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 · uneditedThe consentAdmin module in SimpleSAMLphp through 1.14.15 is vulnerable to a Cross-Site Scripting attack, allowing an attacker to craft links that could execute arbitrary JavaScript code on the victim's web browser.
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 consentAdmin module in SimpleSAMLphp versions up to 1.14.15 contains a reflected XSS vulnerability. Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript code into links that, when clicked by authenticated administrators, execute in their browsers, potentially hijacking sessions or performing administrative actions.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0<= 1.14.15CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 SimpleSAMLphp installationLocate the SimpleSAMLphp installation directory (commonly in /var/www/simplesamlphp, /usr/share/simplesamlphp, or via web server document root). Look for the main config.php file and the simplesamlphp version in metadata or a VERSION file.Affected if SimpleSAMLphp is installed on the system
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Determine installed SimpleSAMLphp versionCheck the SimpleSAMLphp version by examining the VERSION file in the root directory, the version defined in composer.json, or the version reported in the SimpleSAMLphp admin interface under Configuration or About.Affected if The version is 1.14.15 or lower, or if no version can be determined and the installation predates the fix
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Verify consentAdmin module is present and enabledCheck the modules/ directory for the consentAdmin folder, and verify it is enabled in the module configuration or by checking config.php for 'module.consentAdmin' in the 'module.enable' setting.Affected if The consentAdmin module is installed and enabled in the SimpleSAMLphp configuration
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Check for unpatched XSS vectors in consentAdminExamine the consentAdmin module's PHP files (especially those handling user input or generating links) for any unescaped output of request parameters. Look for direct use of $_GET or $_POST variables in HTML context without htmlspecialchars() encoding.Affected if The consentAdmin module code contains unescaped user input reflected in HTML output and the SimpleSAMLphp version is 1.14.15 or earlier
A user is affected if SimpleSAMLphp version 1.14.15 or lower is installed with the consentAdmin module enabled and the installation is accessible to untrusted users who could craft malicious links for administrators.
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 SimpleSAMLphp to version 1.14.16 or later, which contains the fix for this XSS vulnerability in the consentAdmin module.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18121 — 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-2017-18121 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