CVE-2017-9462Mercurial Vulnerability
Mercurial has Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Published Jul 13, 2018 · Updated Aug 4, 2026 · Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2017-9462, DLA-1005-1, GHSA-ghjx-3jg5-h6r2, PYSEC-2017-91, SUSE-SU-2017:1558-1, SUSE-SU-2017:1606-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-9462
Key Facts
Patch immediately- CVE-2017-9462 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.7 v4) affecting Mercurial, Debian Linux, Enterprise Linux Desktop (Redhat) and 12 more products.
- It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog. Public exploit code is available.
- EPSS estimates a 22% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- Fixed versions are available, including emacs-mercurial 1.4-5.el6_9, emacs-mercurial 2.6.2-7.el7_3, emacs-mercurial 3.7.3-1.28.amzn1.
- Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because public exploit code exists for a high-severity flaw.
Scores
CVSS v4
8.7
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)
22%
Higher than 97.6% of all scored CVEs
Exploit maturity
Weaponized
ATLAS score
52/100
Publication score, see How it works
Exploitation Verdict
KEV listed
Not listed
Federal due date
None
No federal due date
Ransomware use
Not reported
Attributed actors
None named
Exploit & Defence Guidance
Exploit maturity
Weaponized
Public exploit code
1
Proof-of-concept links
In-the-wild evidence
0
Reports of active use
Advisories And Exploit References
- advisoryhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9462
- advisoryhttps://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-9462
- advisoryhttps://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-9462
- advisoryhttps://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9462
- advisoryhttps://bugzilla.suse.com/1043063
- advisoryhttps://bugzilla.suse.com/1043502
Description
In Mercurial before 4.1.3, "hg serve --stdio" allows remote authenticated users to launch the Python debugger, and consequently execute arbitrary code, by using --debugger as a repository name.
Affected Products
53 affected entries in total| Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| MercurialMercurial | See advisory | 4.1.3 |
| Debian LinuxDebian | 8.0, 9.0 | n/a |
| Enterprise Linux DesktopRedhat | 6.0, 7.0 | n/a |
| Enterprise Linux ServerRedhat | 6.0, 7.0 | n/a |
| Enterprise Linux Server AusRedhat | 7.3, 7.4, 7.6 | n/a |
Patched Releases
emacs-mercurial
1.4-5.el6_9, 2.6.2-7.el7_3, 3.7.3-1.28.amzn1
emacs-mercurial-el
1.4-5.el6_9, 2.6.2-7.el7_3, 3.7.3-1.28.amzn1
Mercurial
0:1.4-5.el6_9, 0:2.6.2-7.el7_3, 1.4-5.el6_9, 2.2.2-4+deb7u4, 2.3.2-0.17.1, 2.6.2-7.el7_3, 2.8.2-14.1, 2.8.2-1ubuntu1.4, 3.1.2-2+deb8u5, 3.7.3-1ubuntu1.1, 3.8.3-2.5.1, 4.1.3, 4.3.1-1
mercurial-common
3.7.3-1.28.amzn1
mercurial-hgk
1.4-5.el6_9, 2.6.2-7.el7_3
mercurial-lang
3.8.3-2.5.1
mercurial-python26
3.7.3-1.28.amzn1
mercurial-python27
3.7.3-1.28.amzn1
Timeline
Publicly disclosed
Jul 13, 2018
Last updated
Aug 4, 2026
Weakness Type
- CWE-284 Improper Access Control
- CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
References
- advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE-2017-9462
- advisorysecurity-tracker.debian.org · CVE-2017-9462
- advisoryubuntu.com · CVE-2017-9462
- advisorycve.org · CVERecord
- advisorybugzilla.suse.com · 1043063
FAQ
Common Questions.
In Mercurial before 4.1.3, "hg serve --stdio" allows remote authenticated users to launch the Python debugger, and consequently execute arbitrary code, by using --debugger as a repository name.
Affected: Mercurial; Debian Linux versions 8.0, 9.0; Enterprise Linux Desktop (Redhat) versions 6.0, 7.0, among others. The full list is in the CVE brief.
It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog.
No, it is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Public exploit code is available.
Fixed versions are available, including emacs-mercurial 1.4-5.el6_9, emacs-mercurial 2.6.2-7.el7_3, emacs-mercurial 3.7.3-1.28.amzn1.
Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because public exploit code exists for a high-severity flaw.
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