CVE-2017-16544

HIGHNVD 8.88.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 8.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2022-05-13. NVD baseline CVSS 8.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
8.8
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 6%CVSS: 8.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used to get a list of filenames in a directory, does not sanitize filenames and results in executing any escape sequence in the terminal. This could potentially result in code execution, arbitrary file writes, or other attacks.

CVSS v3
8.8
EG Score
8.8(medium)
EPSS
92.7%
KEV
Not listed

Published

November 20, 2017

Last Modified

May 13, 2026

Advisory Details (10)

Auto-updated May 23, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. No patch confirmed yet.
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20210113-0 :: Multiple vulnerabilities in Pepperl+Fuchs IO-Link Master Series

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Jan/39
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20210819-0 :: Multiple critical vulnerabilities in Altus Nexto and Hadron series

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Aug/21
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20200902-0 :: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Red Lion N-Tron 702-W, Red Lion N-Tron 702M12-W

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Sep/6
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20200312-0 :: Authenticated Command Injection in Phoenix Contact TC Router & TC Cloud Client

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Mar/15
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20200827-0 :: Multiple Vulnerabilities in ZTE mobile Hotspot MS910S

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/20
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20190904-0 :: Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco router series RV34X, RV26X and RV16X

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Sep/7
generic🟡 PoC Available

Full Disclosure: SEC Consult SA-20190612-0 :: Multiple vulnerabilities in WAGO 852 Industrial Managed Switch Series

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jun/18
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/167552/Nexans-FTTO-GigaSwitch-Outdated-Components-Hardcoded-Backdoor.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154536/VMware-Security-Advisory-2019-0013.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154361/Cisco-Device-Hardcoded-Credentials-GNU-glibc-BusyBox.html

Patch Availability(1)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntuudhcpd (1:1.22.0-15ubuntu1.4) @ xenial2026-05-22ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

All Vendor Advisories

(1)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 9× in last 7d / 38× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-06 16:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-06 02:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-05 02:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-29 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-22 21:35 UTCOSV refresh
  18. 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 49 more
  1. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-05 12:57 UTCOSV refresh
  18. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-05-29 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-05-22 07:51 UTCEG score recompute
  41. 2026-05-22 07:51 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-05-22 07:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-05-21 23:36 UTCOSV refresh
  44. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2017-16544?
CVE-2017-16544 is a high vulnerability published on November 20, 2017. In the add_match function in libbb/lineedit.c in BusyBox through 1.27.2, the tab autocomplete feature of the shell, used to get a list of filenames in a directory, does not sanitize filenames and results in executing any escape sequence in the terminal. This could potentially result in code…
When was CVE-2017-16544 disclosed?
CVE-2017-16544 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on November 20, 2017, with the most recent update on May 13, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2017-16544 actively exploited?
CVE-2017-16544 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 92.7% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-16544?
CVE-2017-16544 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2017-16544?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2017-16544, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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