CVE-2017-8895
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 · uneditedIn Veritas Backup Exec 2014 before build 14.1.1187.1126, 15 before build 14.2.1180.3160, and 16 before FP1, there is a use-after-free vulnerability in multiple agents that can lead to a denial of service or remote code execution. An unauthenticated attacker can use this vulnerability to crash the agent or potentially take control of the agent process and then the system it is running on.
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 analysisMemory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.
General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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< 14.1.1786.1126< 14.2.1180.3160< 16.0.1142.1327CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
dbcve · scoped14.1.1786.112614.2.1180.316016.0.1142.1327
Backup Exec 14.1 to build 14.1.1786.1126; Backup Exec 14.2 to build 14.2.1180.3160; Backup Exec 16.0 to build 16.0.1142.1327 (FP1)
- 1. Identify the currently installed Backup Exec version by opening Backup Exec and navigating to Help > About Backup Exec, or checking the installation in Programs and Features.
- 2. Determine which major version (14.1, 14.2, or 16.0) is currently installed.
- 3. For Backup Exec 14.1 (2014): Upgrade to version 14.1.1786.1126 or later.
- 4. For Backup Exec 14.2 (2015): Upgrade to version 14.2.1180.3160 or later.
- 5. For Backup Exec 16.0: Upgrade to version 16.0.1142.1327 (FP1) or later.
- 6. Download the appropriate update from the Veritas Backup Exec support website or use the built-in update mechanism.
- 7. Before applying the update, ensure a complete backup of the Backup Exec database and configuration settings.
- 8. Apply the update during a maintenance window when backups are not scheduled.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-8895 — 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-2017-8895 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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