xdg-utils: Argument injection vulnerability in open_envvar() function
Published May 10, 2018
8.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 2.45%
Description
The open_envvar function in xdg-open in xdg-utils before 1.1.3 does not validate strings before launching the program specified by the BROWSER environment variable, which might allow remote attackers to conduct argument-injection attacks via a crafted URL, as demonstrated by %s in this environment variable.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 1
- < 1.1.3
Configuration 2
- 7.0
- 8.0
- 9.0
Configuration 3
- 14.04
- 16.04
- 17.10
- 18.04
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
xdg-utils
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
xdg-utils
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
xdg-utils
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | xdg-utils | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | xdg-utils | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | xdg-utils | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue did not affect the versions of xdg-utils as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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
- EPSS v4
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
Table of values (15 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.45% (0.02454) | 83.83th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.47% (0.02472) | 82.39th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 1.43% (0.01431) | 78.86th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 3.37% (0.03366) | 78.74th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 1.43% (0.01431) | 79.30th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.71% (0.00707) | 81.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 12, 2024 | 0.70% (0.00705) | 80.08th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Dec 4, 2023 | 0.70% (0.00705) | 78.08th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Oct 1, 2023 | 0.77% (0.00772) | 79.18th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 3, 2023 | 0.68% (0.00680) | 77.46th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.55% (0.00551) | 74.00th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 71.27th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.32% (0.01319) | 44.98th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 2.21% (0.02207) | 50.62th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 2.21% (0.02207) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (11)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-18266 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=103807 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatch
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1578767 Issue Tracking
- https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/commit/?id=5647afb35e4bcba2060148e1a2a47bc43cc240f2 x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
- https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/commit/?id=ce802d71c3466d1dbb24f2fe9b6db82a1f899bcb x_refsource_MISCPatch
- https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/tree/ChangeLog x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/05/msg00014.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-18266
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3650-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-18266
- https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4211 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-18266 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=103807 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatch | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1578767 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/commit/?id=5647afb35e4bcba2060148e1a2a47bc43cc240f2 | x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes | |
| https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/commit/?id=ce802d71c3466d1dbb24f2fe9b6db82a1f899bcb | x_refsource_MISCPatch | |
| https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xdg/xdg-utils/tree/ChangeLog | x_refsource_MISCRelease Notes | |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/05/msg00014.html | mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTThird Party Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-18266 | ||
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/3650-1/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-18266 | ||
| https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4211 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.