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CordovaApplication · Apache

CVE-2017-3160

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
After the Android platform is added to Cordova the first time, or after a project is created using the build scripts, the scripts will fetch Gradle on the first build. However, since the default URI is not using https, it is vulnerable to a MiTM and the Gradle executable is not safe. The severity of this issue is high due to the fact that the build scripts immediately start a build after Gradle has been fetched. Developers who are concerned about this issue should install version 6.1.2 or higher of Cordova-Android. If developers are unable to install the latest version, this vulnerability can easily be mitigated by setting the CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL environment variable to https://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-2.14.1-all.zip

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 confidence

Cordova-Android build scripts fetch the Gradle distribution over an unencrypted HTTP URI, making the download vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) attacks. Since builds execute immediately after fetching Gradle, a compromised Gradle executable could be injected and run with the developer's privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Cordova-Android to version 6.1.2 or higher, which uses HTTPS for Gradle downloads, or set the CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL environment variable to the HTTPS endpoint.

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
CordovaApplication
Affected:< 6.1.2

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Cordova version
    Run 'cordova --version' or check package.json for cordova-lib version
    Affected if Version is below 6.1.2 (e.g., 6.1.1, 6.0.0, 5.x)
  2. Check for Gradle distribution URL environment variable
    Run 'echo $CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL' on Linux/Mac or 'echo %CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL%' on Windows
    Affected if Variable is unset, empty, or set to an HTTP (not HTTPS) URL
  3. Inspect Cordova build scripts for Gradle download URL
    Locate the platform build scripts in your project (e.g., node_modules/cordova-android/bin/templates/project/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties) or the Cordova platform installation and examine the distributionUrl value
    Affected if The distributionUrl uses 'http://' instead of 'https://'

Your environment is affected if you use Cordova version below 6.1.2 AND the Gradle distribution is fetched over HTTP (no CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL set to an HTTPS endpoint).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

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AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.2 or later
Fixed in 6.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cordova-Android to version 6.1.2 or higher, which uses HTTPS for Gradle downloads, or set the CORDOVA_ANDROID_GRADLE_DISTRIBUTION_URL environment variable to the HTTPS endpoint.

Fix this in Cordova Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-3160 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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