CVE-2017-16894 — In Laravel framework through 5

In Laravel framework through 5.5.21, remote attackers can obtain sensitive information (such as externally usable passwords) via a direct request for the /.env URI. NOTE: this CVE is only about Laravel framework's writeNewEnvironmentFileWith function in src/Illuminate/Founda

01What is this vulnerability?

In Laravel framework through 5.5.21, remote attackers can obtain sensitive information (such as externally usable passwords) via a direct request for the /.env URI. NOTE: this CVE is only about Laravel framework's writeNewEnvironmentFileWith function in src/Illuminate/Foundation/Console/KeyGenerateCommand.php, which uses file_put_contents without restricting the .env permissions. The .env…

02Affected products

No structured affected-product list available — see references below for vendor advisories.

03Active exploitation status

Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Ask SARA in chat to draft a starting detection for this CVE in your stack of choice.

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2017-11-20T01:29:00.227
• Last modified: 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033

09References

• packetstormsecurity.com — http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153641/PHP-Laravel-Framework-Token-Unserial…
• whiteboyz.xyz — http://whiteboyz.xyz/laravel-env-file-vuln.html
• twitter.com — https://twitter.com/finnwea/status/967709791442341888
• packetstormsecurity.com — http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153641/PHP-Laravel-Framework-Token-Unserial…
• whiteboyz.xyz — http://whiteboyz.xyz/laravel-env-file-vuln.html
• twitter.com — https://twitter.com/finnwea/status/967709791442341888