Path Traversal in S-nail (CVE-2017-5899)
Summary
Path traversal in S-nail (CVE-2017-5899). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Directory traversal vulnerability in the setuid root helper binary in S-nail (later S-mailx) before 14.8.16 allows local users to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain root privileges via a .. (dot dot) in the randstr argument.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2017-5899 has been found in S-nail.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.0/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "S-nail CVE-2017-5899" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2017-5899 (S-nail) — CWE-22 / CVSS v3 7.0
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Path traversal (CWE-22) exists in S-nail.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of S-nail.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.0/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'S-nail' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'S-nail' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
S-nailを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2017-5899 s-nail Fixed in: 14.8.16-1
References
- advisory openwall.com
- advisory securityfocus.com
- exploit openwall.com
- web mail-archive.com