CVE-2017-4973
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Cloud Foundry Foundation cf-release versions prior to v257; UAA release 2.x versions prior to v2.7.4.14, 3.6.x versions prior to v3.6.8, 3.9.x versions prior to v3.9.10, and other versions prior to v3.15.0; and UAA bosh release (uaa-release) 13.x versions prior to v13.12, 24.x versions prior to v24.7, and other versions prior to v30. A vulnerability has been identified with the groups endpoint in UAA allowing users to elevate their privileges.
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 UAA (User Account and Authentication) server in Cloud Foundry contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in its groups endpoint. This allows authenticated users to elevate their privileges beyond what they should have access to, potentially granting themselves administrative capabilities.
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<= 30= 13.1= 13.2= 13.3= 13.4= 13.5= 13.6= 13.7= 13.8= 13.9= 13.10= 13.11<= 256= 2.2.5.4= 2.7.1= 2.7.2= 2.7.3= 2.7.4= 2.7.4.1= 2.7.4.2= 2.7.4.3= 2.7.4.4= 2.7.4.5= 2.7.4.6= 2.7.4.7CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 UAA server versionQuery the UAA info endpoint: curl -k https://uaa.your-domain/info or check the cf-release version via 'cf curl /v2/info' which returns uaa_url. Also check bosh deployments for the UAA release version.Affected if The UAA version falls within these ranges: uaa-release versions <=30, 13.1-13.11; cf-release <=256; UAA versions 2.2.5.4, 2.7.1-2.7.4.7 (any 2.7.x up to 2.7.4.7)
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Verify the groups endpoint is exposedConfirm the UAA groups endpoint is accessible: curl -k -u <any-authenticated-user> https://uaa.your-domain/uaa/GroupsAffected if The endpoint returns group membership data for a user, indicating the vulnerable endpoint is active
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Check user group membership capabilitiesAs a non-admin authenticated user, query the groups endpoint with parameter 'origin=uaa' or check if any user can read or modify group memberships via the APIAffected if Authenticated users can access or modify group memberships beyond their assigned groups, indicating the privilege escalation is possible
Your environment is affected if the UAA version matches the vulnerable ranges AND the groups endpoint is accessible to authenticated users who can potentially elevate their privileges.
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 UAA to the patched versions (v257+ for cf-release, v2.7.4.14+/v3.6.8+/v3.9.10+/v3.15.0+ for UAA release, or v13.12+/v24.7+/v30+ for uaa-release).
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2017-4973 — 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-2017-4973 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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