How severe is CVE-2017-16197?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2017-16197 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2017-16197?

CVE-2017-16197 affects the following packages: qinserve (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2017-16197?

No patched version of qinserve has shipped for CVE-2017-16197 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.

How do I detect CVE-2017-16197 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for qinserve, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2017-16197 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Is CVE-2017-16197 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2017-16197, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2017-16197?

CVE-2017-16197 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 3.2%, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2017-16197?

CVE-2017-16197 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2017-16197 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2017-16197 was published on September 1, 2020 and was last updated on November 8, 2023. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2017-16197 — qinserve

CVE-2017-16197 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in qinserve. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

Directory Traversal in qinserve

Published

Sep 1, 2020

Updated

Nov 8, 2023

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 11, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

3.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs88th percentile — riskier than 88% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

0other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

qinservenpm

2downloads / week

Description

Affected versions of qinserve resolve relative file paths, resulting in a directory traversal vulnerability. A malicious actor can use this vulnerability to access files outside of the intended directory root, which may result in the disclosure of private files on the vulnerable system.

Example request:

GET /../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1
host:foo

Recommendation

No patch is available for this vulnerability.

It is recommended that the package is only used for local development, and if the functionality is needed for production, a different package is used instead.

Affected Packages

1 total

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`qinserve`	≥ 0.0.0	No fix

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

qinserveqinserve_project

1 version

1.0.0

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

qinserve is a static file server. qinserve is vulnerable to a directory …

github.comNVDOct 2019

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for qinserve, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
No patched version of qinserve has shipped for CVE-2017-16197 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Affected versions of `qinserve` resolve relative file paths, resulting in a directory traversal vulnerability. A malicious actor can use this vulnerability to access files outside of the intended directory root, which may result in the disclosure of private files on the vulnerable system. **Example request:** ```http GET /../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1 host:foo ``` ## Recommendation No patch is available for this vulnerability. It is recommended that the package is only used for local development, and if the functionality is needed for production, a different package is

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2017-16197 in your dependencies?

Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works