CVE-2017-12185 [Critical] | Input Validation Bypass in Debian Linux

CVE-2017-12185 is rated High Risk (65/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.84%). High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2025-08-10	0.88%	0.84%	-0.04%
2	2025-03-30	3.23%	0.88%	-2.35%
3	2025-03-29	—	3.23%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2025-08-10

0.88%

0.84%

-0.04%

2025-03-30

3.23%

0.88%

-2.35%

2025-03-29

—

3.23%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
9.8	3.0	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	5.9	[email protected]
7.5	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	10.0	6.4	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

9.8

3.0

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

5.9

[email protected]

7.5

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

10.0

6.4

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-12185

vendor	priority	summary	link
`alpine`	—	CVE-2017-12185: 1 source package rows (xorg-server); 10 state rows across 10 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community); fixed 10, open 0.	https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2017-12185
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2017-12185 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (xorg-server), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-12185
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-12185
`suse`	medium	CVE-2017-12185 severity moderate: SUSE including 14 source package names (xorg-x11-Xvnc, xorg-x11-Xvnc-7.4-27.122.16.1, …), 56 product×package rows across 21 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3, … (21 product lines)): Fixed 29, Known Not Affected 27.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-12185/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2017-12185 medium priority: Ubuntu including 8 source packages (xorg, xorg-hwe-16.04, …), 32 status rows across 4 suites (trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): DNE 16, released 8, not-affected 5, needs-triage 3.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-12185

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-12185

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
debian	debian_linux	8.0	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:::::::*
debian	debian_linux	9.0	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:::::::*
x.org	x_server	< 1.19.5	cpe:2.3:a:x.org:x_server::::::::

References for CVE-2017-12185

URL	Tags
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1509215	Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/?id=cad5a1050b7184d828aef9c1dd151c3ab649d37e	Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2017/11/msg00032.html	Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4000	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2017-12185

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2017-12185

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-12185

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2017-12185

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-12185

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-12185

References for CVE-2017-12185