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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2017-6384 Atheme CVE debrief

CVE-2017-6384 describes a memory leak in Atheme's login_user function that can be triggered by a remote unauthenticated attacker to consume memory and cause a denial of service. The issue affects Atheme 7.2.7 and is fixed in 7.2.8.

Vendor
Atheme
Product
Unknown
CVSS
HIGH 7.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-03-02
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-03-02
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Operators and maintainers running Atheme 7.2.7, especially Internet-facing deployments that expose the affected login path or related SASL services, should prioritize this issue because it requires no authentication and impacts availability.

Technical summary

NVD describes a memory leak in login_user within saslserv/main.c (saslserv/main.so) in Atheme 7.2.7. The attacker model is remote and unauthenticated, with the practical effect being repeated memory consumption leading to service degradation or denial of service. NVD maps the weakness to CWE-772 and gives the vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Defensive priority

High

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade Atheme to version 7.2.8 or later, which is identified as the fixed release.
  • If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network exposure to the affected service and limit access to trusted clients only.
  • Monitor memory usage and process stability for the affected Atheme components until remediation is complete.
  • Validate that deployed packages match the fixed release rather than the vulnerable 7.2.7 build.

Evidence notes

All material claims are supported by the supplied NVD record and referenced vendor materials. The record states the issue is a memory leak in login_user, that it is remotely triggerable without authentication, that Atheme 7.2.7 is vulnerable, and that 7.2.8 contains the fix. The supplied NVD metadata also identifies CWE-772 and CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2017-6384 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6384

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2017-6384 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6384

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.