dbcve.org
Software UpdaterApplication · F Secure

CVE-2017-6466

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-03-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
F-Secure Software Updater 2.20, as distributed in several F-Secure products, downloads installation packages over plain http and does not perform file integrity validation after download. Man-in-the-middle attackers can replace the file with their own executable which will be executed under the SYSTEM account. Note that when Software Updater is configured to install updates automatically, it checks if the downloaded file is digitally signed by default, but does not check the author of the signature. When running in manual mode (default), no signature check is performed.

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

F-Secure Software Updater 2.20 downloads installation packages over unencrypted HTTP without validating file integrity. In manual mode (the default), no signature verification occurs at all. In automatic mode, the updater only checks that a file is signed but does not verify the signer's identity, allowing attackers with any valid code signing certificate to serve malicious updates. The downloaded executable runs with SYSTEM privileges, enabling full system compromise via MITM attacks.

MitigationSwitch Software Updater to automatic mode and ensure signature validation is enforced; more importantly, await the vendor patch from F-Secure that addresses the root HTTP issue and implements proper certificate authority validation. In the interim, isolate affected systems on network segments to reduce MITM exposure.

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
Software UpdaterApplication
Affected:= 2.20

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
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 checks

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

  1. Confirm F-Secure Software Updater installation
    Locate F-Secure Software Updater in installed programs or check for its executable/service on the system
    Affected if The software is present on the system
  2. Verify the installed version is 2.20
    Check the version of F-Secure Software Updater (typically via program properties, help about, or installed programs list) and confirm it equals 2.20
    Affected if The version is exactly 2.20
  3. Check the current update mode setting
    Open F-Secure Software Updater configuration and identify whether it is set to Manual mode or Automatic mode (manual is the default)
    Affected if The software is set to Manual mode (no signature verification) or Automatic mode (only checks signature presence, not signer identity)
  4. Inspect update source configuration
    Examine the Software Updater settings to determine what protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) is used for fetching updates
    Affected if Updates are configured to use unencrypted HTTP rather than HTTPS

A system is affected if F-Secure Software Updater version 2.20 is installed with Manual mode (default) or Automatic mode, particularly if unencrypted HTTP is used for update downloads, enabling MITM attackers to inject malicious SYSTEM-privileged executables.

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

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Switch Software Updater to automatic mode and ensure signature validation is enforced; more importantly, await the vendor patch from F-Secure that addresses the root HTTP issue and implements proper certificate authority validation. In the interim, isolate affected systems on network segments to reduce MITM exposure.

Fix this in Software Updater Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6466 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2017-6466 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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
  • 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