The Sophos UTM VPN endpoint interacts with client software provided by NPC Engineering (www.ncp-e.com). The affected client software, "Sophos IPSec Client" 11.04 is a rebranded version of NCP "Secure Entry Client" 10.11 r32792. A vulnerability in the software update feature of the VPN client allows a man-in-the-middle (MITM) or man-on-the-side (MOTS) attacker to execute arbitrary, malicious software on a target user's computer. This is related to SIC_V11.04-64.exe (Sophos), NCP_EntryCl_Windows_x86_1004_31799.exe (NCP), and ncpmon.exe (both Sophos and NCP). The vulnerability exists because: (1) the VPN client requests update metadata over an insecure HTTP connection; and (2) the client software does not check if the software update is signed before running it.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2017-17023 is rated Moderate Risk (48.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.61%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-06-15 | 0.06% | 0.61% | +0.55% |
| 2 | 2025-03-17 | 0.16% | 0.06% | -0.10% |
| 3 | 2023-03-07 | — | 0.16% | — |
Full EPSS history (5 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | 3.0 | HIGH |
|
2.2 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 9.3 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
8.6 | 10.0 | [email protected] |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ncp-e | ncp_secure_entry_client | 10.11 | cpe:2.3:a:ncp-e:ncp_secure_entry_client:10.11:32792:*:*:*:windows:*:* |
| sophos | ipsec_client | 11.04 | cpe:2.3:a:sophos:ipsec_client:11.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |