CVE-2017-20216
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 · uneditedFLIR Thermal Camera PT-Series firmware version 8.0.0.64 contains multiple unauthenticated remote command injection vulnerabilities in the controllerFlirSystem.php script. Attackers can execute arbitrary system commands as root by exploiting unsanitized POST parameters in the execFlirSystem() function through shell_exec() calls. Exploitation evidence was observed by the Shadowserver Foundation on 2026-01-06 (UTC).
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 confidenceFLIR Thermal Camera PT-Series firmware 8.0.0.64 contains unauthenticated remote command injection vulnerabilities in controllerFlirSystem.php. Attackers exploit unsanitized POST parameters passed to the execFlirSystem() function which uses shell_exec(), allowing arbitrary system command execution with root privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS 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:3.1/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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Identify the device modelAccess the device web interface or check physical device labeling to confirm it is a FLIR Thermal Camera PT-Series modelAffected if The device is not a FLIR PT-Series camera
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Check firmware versionLog into the camera's web interface (or use SNMP/SSH if available) and navigate to the firmware/version information page. Compare the displayed firmware version to 8.0.0.64 and any known affected version range.Affected if Firmware version is at or below 8.0.0.64, or falls within the known vulnerable range
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Verify web interface accessibilityAttempt to access the camera's HTTP/HTTPS web interface from the network. Check if port 80 or 443 (or custom HTTP port) responds.Affected if The web interface is accessible and responds to HTTP requests
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Confirm vulnerable script presenceIf the web interface is accessible, attempt to access controllerFlirSystem.php by sending a request to a path such as http://[device-ip]/controllerFlirSystem.php (actual path may vary based on installation). A 200 response or similar indicates the script exists.Affected if The controllerFlirSystem.php script is present and accessible on the web server
A user is affected if they have a FLIR PT-Series camera with firmware version at or below the vulnerable version (8.0.0.64 or within the affected range) AND the web interface with the vulnerable PHP script is network-accessible.
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 firmware to a patched version when available; if no patch exists, isolate affected devices on a restricted network segment and implement WAF rules to block command injection patterns in HTTP requests.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-20216 — 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-2017-20216 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data