CVE-2017-1000053 — plug
HIGHCVE-2017-1000053 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in plug. A fix is available for plug — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Arbitrary Code Execution in Cookie Serialization
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2017-1000053 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
plug💧plug💧plug💧plugReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Hex packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The default serialization used by Plug session may result in code execution in certain situations. Keep in mind, however, the session cookie is signed and this attack can only be exploited if the attacker has access to your secret key as well as your signing/encryption salts. We recommend users to change their secret key base and salts if they suspect they have been leaked, regardless of this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💧Hex | plug | all versions | 1.0.4mix deps.update plug |
| 💧Hex | plug | ≥ 1.1.0&&< 1.1.7 | 1.1.7mix deps.update plug |
| 💧Hex | plug | ≥ 1.2.0&&< 1.2.3 | 1.2.3mix deps.update plug |
| 💧Hex | plug | ≥ 1.3.0&&< 1.3.2 | 1.3.2mix deps.update plug |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for plug, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update plug to 1.0.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-1000053 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2017-1000053 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2017-1000053. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2017-1000053 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2017-1000053 across Hex dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.