CVE-2017-9248

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2017-9248 is categorized as a critical Insufficiently Protected Credentials flaw with a CVSS base score of 9.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

Telerik.Web.UI.dll in Progress Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX before R2 2017 SP1 and Sitefinity before 10.0.6412.0 does not properly protect Telerik.Web.UI.DialogParametersEncryptionKey or the MachineKey, which makes it easier for remote attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms, leading to a MachineKey leak, arbitrary file uploads or downloads, XSS, or ASP.NET ViewState compromise.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Credential Theft: Exposed secrets enable unauthorized access to infrastructure, cloud services, and third-party integrations.

✅ Compliance Violation: Leaking PII or credentials may violate GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2 requirements.

✅ Supply Chain Risk: Compromised credentials in public repositories can propagate to downstream consumers.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2017-9248

1. Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
2. Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
3. Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
4. Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.

Defending with Precogs AI

Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX utilizes weak cryptographic implementations for its RadAsyncUpload component. Attackers exploit default or guessable machineKeys to manipulate the cryptographic state, leading to arbitrary file uploads and remote code execution. Precogs Application Security Module audits cryptographic parameter validation.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: Hardcoded credential & PII Leak
public class Config {
    // Taint sink: secret embedded in code
    public static final String API_KEY = "sk_live_1234567890abcdef";
}

// ... API Response leaks full user details including SSN ...

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: Environment variables & Data Masking
public class Config {
    // Sanitized configuration
    public static final String API_KEY = System.getenv("STRIPE_API_KEY");
}

// ... API Response masks SSN and restricts PII exposure ...

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs PII & Secrets Scanner continuously monitors codebases and API responses for hardcoded secrets and unintended PII exposure.\n