CVE-2017-5231
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 · uneditedAll editions of Rapid7 Metasploit prior to version 4.13.0-2017020701 contain a directory traversal vulnerability in the Meterpreter stdapi CommandDispatcher.cmd_download() function. By using a specially-crafted build of Meterpreter, it is possible to write to an arbitrary directory on the Metasploit console with the permissions of the running Metasploit instance.
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 confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability exists in the Meterpreter stdapi CommandDispatcher.cmd_download() function in all Metasploit editions prior to version 4.13.0-2017020701. An attacker with the ability to deploy a specially-crafted Meterpreter payload can cause Metasploit to write files to arbitrary directories on the console system, with the privileges of the Metasploit process.
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<= 4.13.19CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
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.
-
Verify Metasploit is installedLocate the Metasploit installation. Common paths include /opt/metasploit-framework, /usr/share/metasploit-framework, or check via 'which msfconsole' command.Affected if Metasploit is present on the system
-
Determine installed Metasploit versionRun 'msfconsole --version' or open msfconsole and read the version banner displayed on startup. Alternatively, check the version.yml file in the Metasploit installation directory.Affected if Version cannot be determined or is 4.13.19 or earlier
-
Compare version to affected rangeCompare your installed version number to the affected range: any version of Metasploit <= 4.13.19 is vulnerable. The fix was released in version 4.13.0-2017020701.Affected if Installed version is 4.13.19 or lower, or is not 4.13.0-2017020701 or higher
You are affected if Metasploit is installed and the version is 4.13.19 or earlier (prior to the 4.13.0-2017020701 patch that added proper path validation in the stdapi download function).
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 to Metasploit version 4.13.0-2017020701 or later, which contains the patch for proper path validation in the download function.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5231 — 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-2017-5231 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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