CVE-2017-5613 cPanel CVE debrief

Who should care

Administrators and operators running cPanel cgiemail or cgiecho, especially systems that use custom or user-supplied template files. Security teams should treat it as a high-priority issue where those components are installed.

Technical summary

The NVD entry maps CVE-2017-5613 to CWE-134 and to the cpanel:cgiemail and cpanel:cgiecho CPEs. The published CVSS v3.0 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, indicating high potential impact if the flaw is triggered and that user interaction is required under the NVD assessment. The vulnerability description identifies unsafe handling of format string specifiers in a template file.

Defensive priority

High. Prioritize any host that still has cgiemail or cgiecho installed or reachable, because the weakness is mapped to code-execution impact and the NVD score is 7.8 HIGH.

Recommended defensive actions

• Inventory systems for cPanel cgiemail and cgiecho installations.
• Apply the remediation guidance from the cPanel TSR-2017-0001 advisory.
• Disable or remove cgiemail and cgiecho if they are not required.
• Review template-file handling and limit who can modify template files.
• Restrict access to affected CGI components and monitor for unexpected CGI execution.
• Validate exposure using the official NVD and vendor references before and after remediation.

Evidence notes

NVD lists the affected products as cpanel:cgiemail and cpanel:cgiecho and classifies the weakness as CWE-134. The reference set includes the cPanel vendor advisory (TSR-2017-0001), an Openwall oss-security post dated 2017-01-28, and a SecurityFocus BID entry. The CVE was published on 2017-03-03.

Sources and 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.