CVE-2017-5175
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 · uneditedAdvantech WebAccess 8.1 and earlier contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability which may allow an attacker to run a malicious DLL file within the search path resulting in execution of arbitrary code.
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 · moderate confidenceAdvantech WebAccess 8.1 and earlier contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability where the application loads DLLs from the search path without validating the full path, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in a directory searched by the application (such as the working directory or system PATH) to achieve arbitrary code execution with the application's privileges.
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<= 8.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Advantech WebAccess installation and versionCheck the installed version of Advantech WebAccess on the system. Common installation paths include C:\Program Files\Advantech\WebAccess or C:\Program Files (x86)\Advantech\WebAccess. Look for version information in the application directory, Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Advantech\WebAccess, or in Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The installed version is 8.1 or earlier, or if the version cannot be determined and the product is present.
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Examine the application DLL search pathUse Process Monitor or similar tool to monitor DLL loading by the WebAccess application (such as BAPxxxx.exe or related executables). Check which directories the application searches for DLLs by examining the PATH environment variable and the application's working directory.Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories with weak permissions (world-writable or user-writable) or from the working directory without full path validation.
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Check Safe DLL Search Mode statusVerify if Safe DLL Search Mode is enabled on the system. Check the registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SafeDllSearchMode (1 = enabled, 0 = disabled). Also check if the application explicitly disables this via SetDllDirectory or similar API.Affected if Safe DLL Search Mode is disabled (value is 0) or the application uses insecure DLL loading functions that bypass it.
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Audit directory permissions in DLL search pathReview permissions on directories in the system PATH that are searched for DLLs, as well as the WebAccess application working directory. Look for directories with Everyone or Users group having Write/Modify permissions.Affected if Any directory in the DLL search path or the application's working directory is writable by low-privilege users, allowing them to place a malicious DLL.
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Identify unsigned or untrusted DLLs loaded by WebAccessUse tools like dumpbin /dependents on WebAccess executables or Process Monitor to list DLLs the application loads. Check if these DLLs are signed and located in trusted system directories versus application or writable directories.Affected if The application loads DLLs from locations outside the system DLL cache or application installation directory without full path specification.
A system is affected if Advantech WebAccess version 8.1 or earlier is installed and the application loads DLLs from directories with weak permissions or has Safe DLL Search Mode disabled, allowing DLL hijacking.
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 dataImplement secure DLL loading by specifying full absolute paths for all DLL imports, enabling Safe DLL Search Mode, and/or implementing DLL search path verification to ensure only signed/expected DLLs are loaded from trusted locations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5175 — 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-2017-5175 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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