Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2017-16014 is a denial-of-service issue in the http-proxy Node.js module. Older versions can crash when an attacker forces certain proxy errors, potentially taking down applications that rely on the library for request proxying.
Executive priority
Treat this as a service availability risk. It is not described as code execution or data theft, but vulnerable public-facing proxy services could be crashed, interrupting customer access or internal workflows.
Technical view
The vulnerability affects the http-proxy node module in versions before 0.7.0, listed as <=0.6.6 in the source bundle. It is categorized as CWE-703, improper handling of exceptional conditions. The issue is tied to error handling behavior that can terminate the server process when triggered.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Node.js services using http-proxy <=0.6.6, especially public-facing reverse proxies, development proxies, API gateways, or middleware that forwards user-controlled requests.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not report active exploitation, and CISA KEV status is false. Public details indicate an attacker must be able to force an error condition in a vulnerable proxying path, causing service disruption rather than data compromise.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, affected version range, CWE-703 classification, and linked historical references. Do not assume broader products, exploit availability, or complete fix mechanics beyond the stated version boundary and vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory applications that depend on the http-proxy Node.js module.
- Replace affected versions with a non-affected release per vendor guidance.
- Prioritize public-facing services using http-proxy for request forwarding.
- Monitor proxy services for unexplained crashes or restart loops.
- Add operational alerting for process exits in proxy-facing services.
Validation and detection
- Check package manifests and lockfiles for http-proxy versions <=0.6.6.
- Review dependency trees for transitive inclusion of vulnerable http-proxy versions.
- Confirm deployed artifacts match the reviewed dependency versions.
- Verify proxy services remain stable under normal error handling paths.
- Document affected services and remediation status for audit tracking.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-703: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2017-16014 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/nodejitsu/node-http-proxy/pull/101CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://nodesecurity.io/advisories/323CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions
Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.