Is CVE-2017-6542 actively exploited?

CVE-2017-6542 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2025-04-20.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2017-6542?

CVE-2017-6542 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

How do I patch CVE-2017-6542?

Patch guidance is available from putty security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2017-6542.

Fix CVE-2017-6542 - CRITICAL putty putty

Q: Which products are affected by CVE-2017-6542?

3 products: putty putty, opensuse leap, opensuse project leap.

Description

The ssh_agent_channel_data function in PuTTY before 0.68 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via a large length value in an agent protocol message and leveraging the ability to connect to the Unix-domain socket representing the forwarded agent connection, which trigger a buffer overflow.

CVSS Metrics

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector: network
Complexity: low
Privileges: none
User Action: none
Scope: unchanged
Confidentiality: high
Integrity: high
Availability: high
Weaknesses: CWE-119 · Memory Buffer Errors

Metadata

Primary Vendor: PUTTY
Published: 3/27/2017
Last Modified: 4/20/2025
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

CVE-2017-6542

Description

CVSS Metrics

Metadata

Affected Products

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary