CVE-2017-17052 — The mm_init function in kernel/fork

The mm_init function in kernel/fork.c in the Linux kernel before 4.12.10 does not clear the ->exe_file member of a new process's mm_struct, allowing a local attacker to achieve a use-after-free or possibly have unspecified other impact by running a specially crafted progr

01What is this vulnerability?

The mm_init function in kernel/fork.c in the Linux kernel before 4.12.10 does not clear the ->exe_file member of a new process's mm_struct, allowing a local attacker to achieve a use-after-free or possibly have unspecified other impact by running a specially crafted program.

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: 2017-11-29T03:29:00.267
• Last modified: 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033

09References

• git.kernel.org — http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=2b7e86…
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102009
• github.com — https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/2b7e8665b4ff51c034c55df3cff76518d1a9ee3…
• www.kernel.org — https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.12.10
• git.kernel.org — http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=2b7e86…
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102009
• github.com — https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/2b7e8665b4ff51c034c55df3cff76518d1a9ee3…
• www.kernel.org — https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.12.10