HIGH
busybox: Insufficient sanitization of filenames when autocompleting
Published Nov 20, 2017
8.8
HIGHCVSS 3.1
EPSS 6.24%
Description
In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used to get a list of filenames in a directory, does not sanitize filenames and results in executing any escape sequence in the terminal. This could potentially result in code execution, arbitrary file writes, or other attacks.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
OR
- 8.0
- 9.0
Configuration 3
OR
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.5
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
- 6.7
Configuration 4
AND
- n/a
Running on/with
- n/a
Configuration 5
AND
- n/a
Running on/with
- n/a
Configuration 6
OR
- 14.04
- 16.04
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
busybox
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
busybox
Will not fix
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | busybox | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | busybox | Will not fix | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
8.8 HIGH NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact High
Integrity Impact High
Availability Impact High
4.8 MEDIUM Red Hat
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction Required
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact Low
Integrity Impact Low
Availability Impact Low
6.5 MEDIUM NVD
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
Access Vector Network
Access Complexity Low
Authentication Single
Confidentiality Impact Partial
Integrity Impact Partial
Availability Impact Partial
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
NoneAutomatable
NoTechnical Impact
TotalDecision
n/aAssessed Jun 9, 2025 · SSVC 2.0.3
6.24% 0.06240
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
EPSS probability 0.06240
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Table of values (18 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 6.24% (0.06240) | 93.33th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 6.24% (0.06240) | 92.62th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| May 30, 2026 | 1.21% (0.01212) | 79.30th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jan 19, 2026 | 2.89% (0.02885) | 85.91th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 1.76% (0.01759) | 81.34th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 17, 2024 | 11.52% (0.11522) | 95.22th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 27, 2024 | 0.52% (0.00522) | 76.26th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Oct 31, 2023 | 0.52% (0.00522) | 74.26th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 0.53% (0.00528) | 74.27th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 0.76% (0.00764) | 78.91th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.66% (0.00665) | 76.53th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 3.08% (0.03076) | 83.74th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 22, 2023 | 3.08% (0.03076) | 83.50th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Dec 29, 2022 | 23.66% (0.23661) | 96.62th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Dec 28, 2022 | 3.08% (0.03076) | 83.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 2.99% (0.02993) | 64.39th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 6.64% (0.06635) | 83.03th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 6.31% (0.06306) | 0.00th | v1 |
Weaknesses (2)
References (24)
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154361/Cisco-Device-Hardcoded-Credentials-GNU-glibc-BusyBox.html x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154536/VMware-Security-Advisory-2019-0013.html x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167552/Nexans-FTTO-GigaSwitch-Outdated-Components-Hardcoded-Backdoor.html x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jun/18 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Sep/7 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/20 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Mar/15 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Sep/6 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Aug/21 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Jan/39 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2022/Jun/36 mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0013.html x_refsource_CONFIRMThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16544 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1515713 Issue Tracking
- https://git.busybox.net/busybox/commit/?id=c3797d40a1c57352192c6106cc0f435e7d9c11e8 x_refsource_MISCPatchVendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00037.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00020.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16544
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jun/14 mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Sep/7 mailing-listx_refsource_BUGTRAQExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-20-240-01 x_refsource_MISCThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3935-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16544
- https://www.twistlock.com/2017/11/20/cve-2017-16544-busybox-autocompletion-vulnerability/ x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.
Sources
CVE.org / MITRE
Status PUBLISHED
Assigner mitre
Published Nov 20, 2017
Updated Jun 9, 2025
Reserved Nov 5, 2017
Link CVE-2017-16544
CISA Vulnrichment
Updated Jun 9, 2025