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FreeradiusApplication

CVE-2017-9148

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-05-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
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
The TLS session cache in FreeRADIUS 2.1.1 through 2.1.7, 3.0.x before 3.0.14, 3.1.x before 2017-02-04, and 4.0.x before 2017-02-04 fails to reliably prevent resumption of an unauthenticated session, which allows remote attackers (such as malicious 802.1X supplicants) to bypass authentication via PEAP or TTLS.

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

FreeRADIUS TLS session cache fails to reliably prevent resumption of unauthenticated sessions, allowing remote attackers (such as malicious 802.1X supplicants) to bypass authentication via PEAP or TTLS by exploiting the session resumption mechanism.

MitigationUpgrade FreeRADIUS to version 3.0.14 or later, or 3.1.x/4.0.x builds dated 2017-02-04 or later to address the session cache validation flaw.

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
FreeradiusApplication
Affected:= 2.1.1= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.1.4= 2.1.6= 2.1.7= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 3.0.2= 3.0.3= 3.0.4= 3.0.5

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
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

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. Check FreeRADIUS version
    Run `radiusd -v` or `freeradius -v` to display the installed version
    Affected if The version displayed is any of the following: 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3, 3.0.4, 3.0.5
  2. Verify PEAP or TTLS is configured
    Inspect the FreeRADIUS eap.conf file (typically in /etc/raddb/mods-available/eap or /etc/freeradius/mods-available/eap) and search for 'peap' or 'ttls' in the 'eap' section
    Affected if PEAP or TTLS is listed as an enabled EAP method in the configuration
  3. Confirm TLS session resumption is in use
    Within the PEAP or TTLS configuration block in eap.conf, check for 'session_resuming' or 'resuming' set to 'yes' or enabled
    Affected if Session resumption is enabled for PEAP or TTLS (this is typically the default behavior)
  4. Check TLS cache configuration
    Look in the tls.conf or within the TLS block of eap.conf for cache settings; verify if 'cache' or 'session' options are present that allow session caching
    Affected if TLS session caching is configured, which enables the vulnerable resumption mechanism

A user is affected if they run any of the listed vulnerable versions AND have PEAP or TTLS with session resumption enabled in their FreeRADIUS configuration.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade FreeRADIUS to version 3.0.14 or later, or 3.1.x/4.0.x builds dated 2017-02-04 or later to address the session cache validation flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to FreeRADIUS 2.1.8+ (for 2.1.x branch), 3.0.14+ (for 3.0.x branch), or latest release for 3.1.x/4.0.x branches

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed FreeRADIUS version using 'radiusd -v' or 'freeradius -v'
  2. 2. For FreeRADIUS 2.1.x: Upgrade to version 2.1.8 or later (the 2.1.8 release includes the TLS session cache fix)
  3. 3. For FreeRADIUS 3.0.x: Upgrade to version 3.0.14 or later
  4. 4. For FreeRADIUS 3.1.x: Upgrade to a version released after 2017-02-04
  5. 5. For FreeRADIUS 4.0.x: Upgrade to a version released after 2017-02-04
  6. 6. After upgrading, restart the FreeRADIUS service using 'systemctl restart freeradius' or 'service freeradius restart'
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version again
  8. 8. Test authentication flows (PEAP/TTLS) to confirm the fix is working properly
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 2.x to 3.x) may introduce configuration changes; review release notes for breaking changes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Freeradius Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2017-9148 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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