Threats / Embedthis / CVE-2017-17562
CVE-2017-17562
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Embedthis GoAhead vulnerability
Embedthis GoAhead before 3.6.5 allows remote code execution when CGI is enabled and a CGI program is dynamically linked, due to improper input validation.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can execute arbitrary code on affected GoAhead web servers by exploiting CGI handling when dynamic linking is in use. The vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
8 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-12-10).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96327 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Embedthis, GoAhead. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-20 Improper Input Validation.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I identify a GoAhead instance with CGI enabled and dynamically linked CGI programs.
Business
Exposed web application infrastructure becomes a reconnaissance target for attackers.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft a malicious request that bypasses input validation in the CGI handler.
Business
Attack surface expands as the validation weakness is weaponized without authentication.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code on the server through the dynamically linked CGI program.
Business
Complete system compromise occurs, enabling data theft, lateral movement, and persistent access.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05