CVE-2017-12635: Due to differences in the Erlang-based JSON parser and JavaScript-based JSON parser, it is possible in Apache CouchDB…
- Is it exploited?
Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of .
VulnCheck KEV lists it since . It cites 811 public reports, the first from .
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 99.8%
EPSS score, percentile 100 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.
- How severe?
- Not scored
The CVE record carries no CVSS score.
- What should I do?
CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 1.2.0 to 1.6.1
- 2.0.0 to 2.1.0
Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of ; VulnCheck KEV, as of ; FIRST EPSS, as of ; CVE List, as of . About the data.
Description
Due to differences in the Erlang-based JSON parser and JavaScript-based JSON parser, it is possible in Apache CouchDB before 1.7.0 and 2.x before 2.1.1 to submit _users documents with duplicate keys for 'roles' used for access control within the database, including the special case '_admin' role, that denotes administrative users. In combination with CVE-2017-12636 (Remote Code Execution), this can be used to give non-admin users access to arbitrary shell commands on the server as the database system user. The JSON parser differences result in behaviour that if two 'roles' keys are available in the JSON, the second one will be used for authorising the document write, but the first 'roles' key is used for subsequent authorization for the newly created user. By design, users can not assign themselves roles. The vulnerability allows non-admin users to give themselves admin privileges.
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
What to do
Advisories and patches
This summary is based on the CVE record as of . Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.
Affected products and versions
Versions by product, as listed in the CVE record (1 product)
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 1.2.0 to 1.6.1 |
| Affected | 2.0.0 to 2.1.0 |
Source: CVE List, as of . About the data.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
6
Known exploited Apache vulnerabilities
- CVE-2016-3081: Apache Struts Command Injection Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-34486: Apache Tomcat Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-34197: Apache ActiveMQ Improper Input Validation Vulnerability
- CVE-2024-38475: Apache HTTP Server Improper Escaping of Output Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-24813: Apache Tomcat Path Equivalence Vulnerability