How severe is CVE-2017-18873?

CVE-2017-18873 has a CVSS score of 5.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2017-18873?

CVE-2017-18873 affects the following packages: github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server (Go), github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server (Go), github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2017-18873?

Update github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server to 4.1.2-0.20171013141717-ee57a5829ab1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-18873 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2017-18873 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2017-18873 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2017-18873?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2017-18873 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2017-18873 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2017-18873 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2017-18873?

CVE-2017-18873 is classified as Improper Input Validation (CWE-20). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2017-18873 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2017-18873 was published on June 19, 2020 and was last updated on July 31, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹 Go

CVE-2017-18873

MEDIUM

CVE-2017-18873 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2017-18873 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Mattermost Server is vulnerable to channel invisibility DoS via misformatted post

Also known asGHSA-x6mw-hf2j-vqpcGO-2026-4282

Published

Jun 19, 2020

Updated

Jul 31, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

Blast Radius

3 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server🐹github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server🐹github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

An issue was discovered in Mattermost Server before 4.3.0, 4.2.1, and 4.1.2. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (channel invisibility) via a misformatted post.

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server`	all versions	4.1.2-0.20171013141717-ee57a5829ab1
🐹Go	`github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server`	≥ 4.2.0&&< 4.2.1-0.20171013140502-b3e4b0ac9168	4.2.1-0.20171013140502-b3e4b0ac9168
🐹Go	`github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server`	≥ 4.3.0-rc1&&< 4.3.0	4.3.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/mattermost/mattermost-server to 4.1.2-0.20171013141717-ee57a5829ab1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-18873 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2017-18873 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2017-18873. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

An issue was discovered in Mattermost Server before 4.3.0, 4.2.1, and 4.1.2. It allows attackers to cause a denial of service (channel invisibility) via a misformatted post.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2017-18873 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2017-18873 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works