CVE-2017-16228: Dulwich Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cwwh-4382-6fwr
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CVSS 9.8
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-16228 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Dulwich libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves dulwich rce vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.18.5.

CVE-2017-16228 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-16228
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cwwh-4382-6fwr
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Dulwich
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2017-16228

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Dulwich dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

dulwich fixed: 0.18.5 
pip install dulwich>=0.18.5
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show dulwich

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2017-16228, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show dulwich

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Dulwich in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.18.5), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show dulwich command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Dulwich, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Dulwich before 0.18.5, when an SSH subprocess is used, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via an ssh URL with an initial dash character in the hostname, a related issue to CVE-2017-9800, CVE-2017-12836, CVE-2017-12976, CVE-2017-1000116, and CVE-2017-1000117.

CVE-2017-16228 Affected Dulwich Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.18.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
dulwich
pypi/dulwich
PyPI
< 0.18.5
0.18.5

References

NVD — CVE-2017-16228 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16228
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jelmer/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6
Dulwich Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jelmer/dulwich
Dulwich Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/dulwich/PYSEC-2017-12.yaml
tracker.debian.org/news/882440 WEB
https://tracker.debian.org/news/882440
web.archive.org/web/20201220231743/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20201220231743/https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6
web.archive.org/web/20210128154006/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20210128154006/https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich
Dulwich Security Information SECURITY
https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich
Dulwich Security Information SECURITY
https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-16228?
CVE-2017-16228 is a security vulnerability in Dulwich involving Dulwich RCE Vulnerability under General Security Weakness.
Which Dulwich versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.18.5 across affected packages: dulwich.
What version fixes CVE-2017-16228?
Upgrading to 0.18.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is dulwich affected?
Yes, dulwich is affected in releases prior to 0.18.5. Upgrade your dependency to 0.18.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-16228?
CVE-2017-16228 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-16228?
CVE-2017-16228 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2017-16228?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show dulwich'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-cwwh-4382-6fwr",
  "modified" : "2024-09-20T16:44:56Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:44:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-16228" ],
  "summary" : "Dulwich RCE Vulnerability",
  "details" : "Dulwich before 0.18.5, when an SSH subprocess is used, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via an ssh URL with an initial dash character in the hostname, a related issue to CVE-2017-9800, CVE-2017-12836, CVE-2017-12976, CVE-2017-1000116, and CVE-2017-1000117.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "dulwich"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.18.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16228"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jelmer/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jelmer/dulwich"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/dulwich/PYSEC-2017-12.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://tracker.debian.org/news/882440"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20201220231743/https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20210128154006/https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.dulwich.io/code/dulwich/commit/7116a0cbbda571f7dac863f4b1c00b6e16d6d8d6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-07-26T18:23:19Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-10-29T20:29:00Z"
  }
}