CVE-2017-16355
Status: ModifiedMedium (4.7)—
In agent/Core/SpawningKit/Spawner.h in Phusion Passenger 5.1.10 (fixed in Passenger Open Source 5.1.11 and Passenger Enterprise 5.1.10), if Passenger is running as root, it is possible to list the contents of arbitrary files on a system by symlinking a file named REVISION from the application root folder to a file of choice and querying passenger-status --show=xml.
CVSS
- Version: 3.1
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Base score: 4.7
Exploitation probability (EPSS)
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.36%
- Percentile among all scored CVEs: 27
- Score date: 10/5/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
Affected technologies (2)
CWEs
- CWE-200
References
- https://blog.phusion.nl/2017/10/13/passenger-security-advisory-5-1-11/
- https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/4043718264095cde6623c2cbe8c644541036d7bf
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Mar/34
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4415
- https://blog.phusion.nl/2017/10/13/passenger-security-advisory-5-1-11/
- https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/4043718264095cde6623c2cbe8c644541036d7bf
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Mar/34
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4415
Raw JSON (NVD)
Show
{
"id": "CVE-2017-16355",
"cveTags": [],
"metrics": {
"cvssMetricV2": [
{
"type": "Primary",
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"cvssData": {
"version": "2.0",
"baseScore": 1.2,
"accessVector": "LOCAL",
"vectorString": "AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N",
"authentication": "NONE",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"accessComplexity": "HIGH",
"availabilityImpact": "NONE",
"confidentialityImpact": "PARTIAL"
},
"acInsufInfo": false,
"impactScore": 2.9,
"baseSeverity": "LOW",
"obtainAllPrivilege": false,
"exploitabilityScore": 1.9,
"obtainUserPrivilege": false,
"obtainOtherPrivilege": false,
"userInteractionRequired": false
}
],
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"type": "Primary",
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"cvssData": {
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"version": "3.1",
"baseScore": 4.7,
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"attackComplexity": "HIGH",
"availabilityImpact": "NONE",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"confidentialityImpact": "HIGH"
},
"impactScore": 3.6,
"exploitabilityScore": 1
}
]
},
"affected": [
{
"source": "cve@mitre.org",
"affectedData": [
{
"vendor": "n/a",
"product": "n/a",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "n/a"
}
]
}
]
}
],
"published": "2017-12-14T22:29:00.210",
"references": [
{
"url": "https://blog.phusion.nl/2017/10/13/passenger-security-advisory-5-1-11/",
"tags": [
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "cve@mitre.org"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/4043718264095cde6623c2cbe8c644541036d7bf",
"tags": [
"Patch",
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "cve@mitre.org"
},
{
"url": "https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Mar/34",
"tags": [
"Issue Tracking",
"Mailing List",
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "cve@mitre.org"
},
{
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4415",
"tags": [
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "cve@mitre.org"
},
{
"url": "https://blog.phusion.nl/2017/10/13/passenger-security-advisory-5-1-11/",
"tags": [
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/phusion/passenger/commit/4043718264095cde6623c2cbe8c644541036d7bf",
"tags": [
"Patch",
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
},
{
"url": "https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Mar/34",
"tags": [
"Issue Tracking",
"Mailing List",
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
},
{
"url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4415",
"tags": [
"Third Party Advisory"
],
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
}
],
"vulnStatus": "Modified",
"weaknesses": [
{
"type": "Primary",
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-200"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In agent/Core/SpawningKit/Spawner.h in Phusion Passenger 5.1.10 (fixed in Passenger Open Source 5.1.11 and Passenger Enterprise 5.1.10), if Passenger is running as root, it is possible to list the contents of arbitrary files on a system by symlinking a file named REVISION from the application root folder to a file of choice and querying passenger-status --show=xml."
},
{
"lang": "es",
"value": "En agent/Core/SpawningKit/Spawner.h en Phusion Passenger 5.1.10 (corregido en Passenger Open Source 5.1.11 y Passenger Enterprise 5.1.10), si Passenger se está ejecutando como root, es posible listar el contenido de archivos arbitrarios en un sistema vinculando simbólicamente un archivo llamado REVISION de la carpeta root de la aplicación a un archivo de libre elección y consultando passenger-status --show=xml."
}
],
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T01:09:14.073",
"configurations": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"negate": false,
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:phusion:passenger:*:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*",
"vulnerable": true,
"matchCriteriaId": "7E734B94-2D51-47B0-9AEF-E736969D2E82",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.1.10",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.0.10"
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:phusion:passenger:*:*:*:*:open_source:*:*:*",
"vulnerable": true,
"matchCriteriaId": "285B15FA-D517-437D-8C69-D7C6CBAB9468",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.1.11",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.0.10"
}
],
"operator": "OR"
}
]
},
{
"nodes": [
{
"negate": false,
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"vulnerable": true,
"matchCriteriaId": "DEECE5FC-CACF-4496-A3E7-164736409252"
}
],
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "cve@mitre.org"
}