openldap: Privilege escalation via PID file manipulation
Published Sep 5, 2017
4.7
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.35%
Description
slapd in OpenLDAP 2.4.45 and earlier creates a PID file after dropping privileges to a non-root account, which might allow local users to kill arbitrary processes by leveraging access to this non-root account for PID file modification before a root script executes a "kill `cat /pathname`" command, as demonstrated by openldap-initscript.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- < 21.1.2
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
compat-openldap
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
compat-openldap
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 1
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2
openldap
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3
openldap
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | compat-openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | compat-openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 1 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3 | openldap | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
As per upstream this bug can be used only when additional major flaws are found in the slapd binary like the ones caused by heap-based buffer overflows etc. Based on this argument, Red Hat Product Security does not consider this to be a security flaw.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00349) | 26.13th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 0.35% (0.00349) | 28.59th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 10.07th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 18, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 9.76th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 7.76th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 0.89% (0.00885) | 27.89th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 0.89% (0.00885) | 10.50th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 0.22% (0.00221) | 1.67th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 0.22% (0.00221) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (6)
- http://www.openldap.org/its/index.cgi?findid=8703 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingMailing ListVendor Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-14159 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1488751 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14159
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14159
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://www.openldap.org/its/index.cgi?findid=8703 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingMailing ListVendor Advisory | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-14159 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1488751 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14159 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14159 | ||
| https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html | x_refsource_MISCPatchThird Party Advisory |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.