CriticalCVE-2017-1000486

    Primetek Primefaces Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2017-1000486)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org, OSV

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    What is affected, what to do

    Primetek Primefaces 5.x is vulnerable to a weak encryption flaw resulting in remote code execution

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update Primetek Primefaces Application to version 5.2.21, Primetek Primefaces Application to version 5.3.8. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Primetek Primefaces Application lte 4.0..4.0.24
    • Primetek Primefaces Application lt 5.0..5.2.21
    • Primetek Primefaces Application lt 5.3..5.3.8
    Fixed in
    • Primetek Primefaces Application 5.2.21
    • Primetek Primefaces Application 5.3.8

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    9.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, OSV

    94.1 %

    EPSS score

    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 99.85

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    228.76 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    9.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    94.1 %
    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    99.85
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 7 February 2025
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-326

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    The flaw is exploitable over the network with no authentication and no user interaction. Because the default key is public and weaponised exploit modules exist, it ranks among the CVEs most likely to be exploited. Typical targets are legacy, often forgotten JSF line-of-business applications in government, manufacturing and finance. These are mass-scanned and commonly abused for cryptomining, webshell implants and as a pivot into internal networks. CISA does not flag known ransomware use, but treat every internet-reachable instance as critical with a 24-hour fix window, and internal instances within a few days.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Find every Java EE/JSF application that ships org.primefaces:primefaces. Check Maven/Gradle dependency trees and WEB-INF/lib/primefaces-*.jar inside WAR/EAR archives. Affected versions are 4.0 through 4.0.24, 5.0 through 5.2.20 and 5.3 through 5.3.7.
      • Patch: Upgrade to PrimeFaces 5.2.21 or 5.3.8, or to a current, maintained major version. The context names no fixed release for the 4.0 branch — a patch is available from the vendor, so check the vendor advisory for the exact version. If nothing is available there, migrate to a supported release.
      • Stopgap if you cannot patch yet: Set the primefaces.SECRET context parameter in web.xml to a long, random value that is unique per application, then redeploy. The flaw stems from weak encryption keyed with a publicly known default secret. Attackers use that key to encrypt arbitrary EL expressions, which the server then evaluates.
      • Internet-facing instances first: Put publicly reachable JSF apps behind a WAF rule (see Mitigation layers) or take them offline until they are patched.
      • Compromise check: On affected hosts, hunt for child processes of the JVM (sh, bash, cmd.exe, powershell.exe), webshells in deployment directories, and unfamiliar cron jobs or services. If you find any, isolate the host and preserve evidence.
      • Rotate secrets: If exploitation is suspected, rotate every credential stored on the app server: JNDI and database credentials, API keys, keystores and service-account passwords.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • WAF/reverse proxy: Block requests to /javax.faces.resource/dyniccontent.properties*-style paths, specifically /javax.faces.resource/dynamiccontent.properties*, that carry pfdrt=sc and an unusually long pfdrid, for example more than 200 Base64 characters. Apply the rule to both GET and POST. Baseline legitimate usage first (p:graphicImage, p:fileDownload with StreamedContent) to avoid false positives.
      • IPS signature: Deploy a Suricata or Snort rule that matches HTTP URI content dynamiccontent.properties together with pfdrid= and ln=primefaces. Mainstream rulesets (ET Open/Pro) include signatures for CVE-2017-1000486; confirm they are enabled.
      • Network segmentation: Apply default-deny egress so app servers cannot initiate outbound internet connections. Allow only defined destinations such as the database, LDAP and the update proxy. This cuts off payload staging and reverse shells.
      • Endpoint hardening: Run the JVM under a dedicated, unprivileged service account with no login shell. Keep the deployment directory read-only. On Linux, use AppArmor/SELinux to restrict execve from the JVM context.
      • Configuration: Set a custom primefaces.SECRET even after patching. Remove or disable dynamic-content features the application does not need.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Web access logs: Look for requests to dynamiccontent.properties.xhtml or .jsf with pfdrt=sc and a long pfdrid, especially from external IPs with no prior session. SPL: index=web uri="*dynamiccontent.properties*" uri_query="*pfdrt=sc*" uri_query="*pfdrid=*" | eval l=len(uri_query) | where l>250
      • Sysmon EID 1 / Defender for Endpoint: Alert when a Java process spawns a shell or a living-off-the-land binary. KQL: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFileName in~ ("java.exe","javaw.exe") and FileName in~ ("cmd.exe","powershell.exe","certutil.exe","bitsadmin.exe")
      • Linux auditd: Watch for execve events with parent java and exe in /bin/sh, /bin/bash, curl or wget. Sigma shape: process_creation | ParentImage endswith '/java' AND Image endswith ('/sh','/bash','/curl','/wget')
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Flag new outbound connections from the app server to unknown destinations or mining-pool ports, and ELF/PE downloads shortly after a suspicious pfdrid request.
      • File integrity: Alert on new .jsp or .xhtml files in the webroot and on changes to crontabs or systemd units on JSF hosts (FIM, Sysmon EID 11).

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Primetek Primefaces 5.x is vulnerable to a weak encryption flaw resulting in remote code execution

    Source: NVD (NIST), OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    primetekprimefaces
    • 5.0 – < 5.2.21
    • 5.3 – < 5.3.8
    • 4.0 – ≤ 4.0.24
    • 5.2.21
    • 5.3.8
    • —
    mavenorg.primefaces:primefaces
    • 5.1
    • 5.3
    • 5.0
    • 5.2
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-326Inadequate Encryption Strength

      Class

      The product stores or transmits sensitive data using an encryption scheme that is theoretically sound, but is not strong enough for the level of protection required.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-326

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Exploit-DBEDB-ID 43733 (opens in a new tab)exploit-db.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

    • NVD (NIST)vuln/detail/CVE-2017-1000486advisory
    • github.comprimefaces/primefaces/issues/1152web, x_refsource_CONFIRM, Issue tracking, Third-party advisory
    • cryptosense.comweak-encryption-flaw-in-primefacesweb
    • exploit-db.comexploits/43733web
    • blog.mindedsecurity.com2016/02/rce-in-oracle-netbeans-opensource.htmlweb, x_refsource_MISC, Exploit, Third-party advisory
    • cryptosense.comweak-encryption-flaw-in-primefacesx_refsource_MISC, Broken link, Third-party advisory
    • exploit-db.com43733Exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-1000…government-resource, US government resource
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