CVE-2017-12166
published 2017-10-04CVE-2017-12166: OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code…
PriorityP350critical9.8CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRNUINSUCHIHAH
EPSS
3.63%
88.3th percentile
OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code execution.
Affected
11 ranges
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| debian | debian_linux | — | — |
| debian | openvpn | < openvpn 2.4.4-1 (bookworm) | openvpn 2.4.4-1 (bookworm) |
| openvpn | openvpn | < 2.3.18 | 2.3.18 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.4.4-1 | 2.4.4-1 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.4.4-1 | 2.4.4-1 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.4.4-1 | 2.4.4-1 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.4.4-1 | 2.4.4-1 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.3.2-7ubuntu3.2+esm2 | 2.3.2-7ubuntu3.2+esm2 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.3.10-1ubuntu2.2+esm2 | 2.3.10-1ubuntu2.2+esm2 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 0 < 2.4.4-2ubuntu1.7+esm1 | 2.4.4-2ubuntu1.7+esm1 |
| openvpn | openvpn | >= 2.4.0 < 2.4.4 | 2.4.4 |
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.19.8CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvdv2.06.8MEDIUMAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
osv9.8CRITICAL
vendor_debian9.8CRITICAL
vendor_ubuntu9.8CRITICAL
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OSV
openvpn vulnerabilities
osv·2025-03-11·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] openvpn vulnerabilities
openvpn vulnerabilities
It was discovered that OpenVPN did not perform proper input validation
when generating a TLS key under certain configuration, which could lead to
a buffer overflow. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a
denial of service or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. (CVE-2017-12166)
Reynir Björnsson discovered that OpenVPN incorrectly handled certain
control channel messages with nonprintable characters. A remote attacker
could possibly use this issue to cause OpenVPN to consume resources, or
fill up log files with garbage, leading to a denial of service.
(CVE-2024-5594)
GHSA
GHSA-vffw-rxx6-r4pj: OpenVPN versions before 2
ghsa_unreviewed·2022-05-04
CVE-2017-12166 [HIGH] CWE-119 GHSA-vffw-rxx6-r4pj: OpenVPN versions before 2
OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code execution.
OSV
CVE-2017-12166: OpenVPN versions before 2
osv·2017-10-04·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] CVE-2017-12166: OpenVPN versions before 2
OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code execution.
Ubuntu
OpenVPN vulnerabilities
vendor_ubuntu·2025-03-11·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2024-5594 [CRITICAL] OpenVPN vulnerabilities
Title: OpenVPN vulnerabilities
Summary: Several security issues were fixed in OpenVPN.
It was discovered that OpenVPN did not perform proper input validation
when generating a TLS key under certain configuration, which could lead to
a buffer overflow. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a
denial of service or execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. (CVE-2017-12166)
Reynir Björnsson discovered that OpenVPN incorrectly handled certain
control channel messages with nonprintable characters. A remote attacker
could possibly use this issue to cause OpenVPN to consume resources, or
fill up log files with garbage, leading to a denial of service.
(CVE-2024-5594)
Instructions: In general, a standard system update will make all the neces
Debian
CVE-2017-12166: openvpn - OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer ...
vendor_debian·2017·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] CVE-2017-12166: openvpn - OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer ...
OpenVPN versions before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 are vulnerable to a buffer overflow vulnerability when key-method 1 is used, possibly resulting in code execution.
Scope: local
bookworm: resolved (fixed in 2.4.4-1)
bullseye: resolved (fixed in 2.4.4-1)
forky: resolved (fixed in 2.4.4-1)
sid: resolved (fixed in 2.4.4-1)
trixie: resolved (fixed in 2.4.4-1)
No detection rules found.
No public exploits indexed.
Bugzilla
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [fedora-all]
bugzilla·2017-09-29·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [fedora-all]
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [fedora-all]
This is an automatically created tracking bug! It was created to ensure
that one or more security vulnerabilities are fixed in affected versions
of fedora-all.
For comments that are specific to the vulnerability please use bugs filed
against the "Security Response" product referenced in the "Blocks" field.
For more information see:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security/TrackingBugs
When submitting as an update, use the fedpkg template provided in the next
comment(s). This will include the bug IDs of this tracking bug as well as
the relevant top-level CVE bugs.
Please also mention the CVE IDs being fixed in the RPM changelog and the
fedpkg commit message.
NOTE: this issue affects multiple su
Bugzilla
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1'
bugzilla·2017-09-29·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1'
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1'
An out-of-bounds write vulnerability was found due to incorrect bounds check in read_key() which was performed after using the value, instead of before. This vulnerability is only exposed when explicitly selecting key-method 1 in the config (or on the command line). This allowed an attacker to send a malformed packet to trigger a stack buffer overflow.
External References:
https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/CVE-2017-12166
Discussion:
Acknowledgments:
Name: the OpenVPN project
Upstream: Guido Vranken
---
Created openvpn tracking bugs for this issue:
Affects: epel-all [bug 1497110]
Affects: fedora-all [bug 1497111]
---
This CVE Bugzilla entry is for community support informational purposes onl
Bugzilla
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [epel-all]
bugzilla·2017-09-29·CVSS 9.8
CVE-2017-12166 [CRITICAL] CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [epel-all]
CVE-2017-12166 openvpn: Incorrect bounds check in read_key() with 'key-method 1' [epel-all]
This is an automatically created tracking bug! It was created to ensure
that one or more security vulnerabilities are fixed in affected versions
of epel-all.
For comments that are specific to the vulnerability please use bugs filed
against the "Security Response" product referenced in the "Blocks" field.
For more information see:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security/TrackingBugs
When submitting as an update, use the fedpkg template provided in the next
comment(s). This will include the bug IDs of this tracking bug as well as
the relevant top-level CVE bugs.
Please also mention the CVE IDs being fixed in the RPM changelog and the
fedpkg commit message.
NOTE: this issue affects multiple suppor
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101153http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039470https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/CVE-2017-12166https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/05/msg00002.htmlhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101153http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039470https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/CVE-2017-12166https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/05/msg00002.html
2017-10-04
Published