MEDIUM CVSS 5.4
Published: 2018-02-20

CVE-2017-17454

mahara mahara Security Advisory (CVE-2017-17454)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2017-17454 impacting mahara mahara. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 5.4 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
Mahara 16.10 before 16.10.7 and 17.04 before 17.04.5 and 17.10 before 17.10.2 have a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability when a user enters invalid UTF-8 characters. These are now going to be discarded in Mahara along with NULL characters and invalid Unicode characters. Mahara will also avoid direct $_GET and $_POST usage where possible, and instead use param_exists() and the correct param_*() function to fetch the expected value.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network (AV:N)
Exploitable remotely across internet boundaries
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
Low (PR:L)
Standard user access required
User Interaction
Required (UI:R)
User must click or open resource
Scope
Changed (S:C)
Impacts components beyond caller authority
Confidentiality
Low (C:L)
Partial information leakage
Integrity
Low (I:L)
Partial data modification possible
Availability
None (A:N)
No system availability impact

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product mahara / mahara
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-79

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2017-17454 impacting mahara mahara.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2017-17454.yaml
id: cve-2017-17454

info:
  name: mahara mahara - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2017-17454 affecting mahara mahara.
    Evaluation: Mahara 16.10 before 16.10.7 and 17.04 before 17.04.5 and 17.10 before 17.10.2 have a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability when a user enters inval...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2017-17454
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
    cvss-score: 5.4
    cve-id: CVE-2017-17454
    cwe-id: CWE-79
  tags: cve,cve-2017-17454,mahara,mahara,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "mahara"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2017-17454.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2017-17454
# Target: mahara mahara | CVSS: 5.4 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2017-17454 (mahara mahara)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against mahara mahara scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2017-17454.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2017-17454
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install mahara 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade mahara 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update mahara

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i mahara 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i mahara

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2017-17454 in mahara mahara?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update mahara mahara packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2017-17454?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2017-17454?

CVE-2017-17454 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 5.4 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
5.4
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2017-17454
Weakness CWE-79
Vendor mahara
Product mahara
Published 2018-02-20
Vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N