CVE-2017-5637 — zookeeper
HIGHCVE-2017-5637 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Missing Authentication vulnerability in org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Apache ZooKeeper
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-2017-5637 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 376,715 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper☕org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeperReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Two four letter word commands "wchp/wchc" are CPU intensive and could cause spike of CPU utilization on Apache ZooKeeper server if abused, which leads to the server unable to serve legitimate client requests. Apache ZooKeeper thru version 3.4.9 and 3.5.2 suffer from this issue, fixed in 3.4.10, 3.5.3, and later.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper | ≥ 3.4.0&&< 3.4.10 | 3.4.10org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper:3.4.10 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper | ≥ 3.5.0&&< 3.5.3 | 3.5.3org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper:3.5.3 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Zookeeper 3.5.2 Client - Denial of Service
by Brandon Dennis · Jul 2, 2017
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.4.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-5637 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-2017-5637 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2017-5637. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss BPMS 6.4 | zookeeper | RHSA-2017:3355 |
| Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6.4 | zookeeper | RHSA-2017:3354 |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6.3 | zookeeper | RHSA-2017:2477 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2017-5637 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2017-5637 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.