# CVE-2017-17562: Embedthis GoAhead Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> CVE-2017-17562: Embedthis GoAhead Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. CVSS 8.1 (CVSS 3.1), in CISA KEV.

Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2017-17562
Last updated: 2025-10-21T23:45:57Z

- Published: 2017-12-12 19:00 UTC · Updated: 2025-10-21 23:45 UTC · Assigner: mitre
- CVSS: 8.1 (CVSS 3.1) · Severity: High · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS: 97.1%, 100th percentile (scored 2026-10-25)
- CISA KEV: yes, added 2021-12-10, federal due date 2022-06-10, ransomware use: Unknown

## Description

Embedthis GoAhead before 3.6.5 allows remote code execution if CGI is enabled and a CGI program is dynamically linked. This is a result of initializing the environment of forked CGI scripts using untrusted HTTP request parameters in the cgiHandler function in cgi.c. When combined with the glibc dynamic linker, this behaviour can be abused for remote code execution using special parameter names such as LD\_PRELOAD. An attacker can POST their shared object payload in the body of the request, and reference it using /proc/self/fd/0.

## CISA required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

## Affected vendors and products

- Embedthis: GoAhead

## References

- [CVE record on cve.org](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-17562)
- [NVD entry](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-17562)
- [https://github.com/elttam/advisories/tree/master/CVE-2017-17562](https://github.com/elttam/advisories/tree/master/CVE-2017-17562)
- [https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/commit/6f786c123196eb622625a920d54048629a7caa74](https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/commit/6f786c123196eb622625a920d54048629a7caa74)
- [https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/issues/249](https://github.com/embedthis/goahead/issues/249)
- [https://www.elttam.com.au/blog/goahead/](https://www.elttam.com.au/blog/goahead/)
- [https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43360/](https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43360/)
- [https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43877/](https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43877/)
- [http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html)
- [http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040702](http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040702)

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_Sources: CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (https://www.cve.org/) This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (https://nvd.nist.gov/) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (https://www.first.org/epss/)_


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Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2017-17562 · Markdown: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2017-17562.md · JSON: https://rewindex.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2017-17562 · Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Generated 2026-10-26T02:45:11.756Z