Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Some Rapid7 Nexpose and InsightVM virtual appliances from a 2017 download window shipped with the same SSH host key. That can weaken trust in appliance administration and could let an attacker impersonate an appliance in the right conditions. Exposure appears limited to virtual appliances downloaded between April 5, 2017 and May 3, 2017.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted high-priority hygiene issue, not a broad emergency. Prioritize organizations still running old Rapid7 virtual appliances or retaining 2017 templates, because the weakness affects administrative trust for security infrastructure itself.
Technical view
CVE-2017-5242 is a duplicate SSH host key issue in Rapid7 Nexpose and InsightVM virtual appliances, mapped to CWE-321. CVSS 3.1 is 7.7 high: network attack vector, high complexity, low privileges, user interaction required, changed scope, high confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations may be exposed if they deployed Rapid7 Nexpose or InsightVM virtual appliances downloaded from April 5, 2017 through May 3, 2017. The source bundle does not identify non-virtual appliance deployments, later images, or other Rapid7 products as affected.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The risk is credible because duplicated SSH host keys can undermine server identity checks, but exploitation requires specific positioning and conditions reflected by high attack complexity and user interaction in the CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports duplicated SSH host keys for a narrow appliance download window. Do not broaden affected scope without vendor confirmation. The source bundle does not provide active exploitation evidence, patch details, or independent exploit reporting, so validation should focus on asset provenance, host key uniqueness, and Rapid7 advisory status.
Mitigation direction
- Identify any Rapid7 Nexpose or InsightVM virtual appliances from the affected 2017 download window.
- Review Rapid7’s advisory and follow its documented remediation guidance for affected appliances.
- Restrict SSH management access to trusted administrative networks during assessment and remediation.
- Replace or remediate affected virtual appliances only according to current Rapid7 guidance.
- Document remediation status for each appliance and retire stale affected images.
Validation and detection
- Inventory deployed Nexpose and InsightVM virtual appliances and capture deployment or image download dates.
- Confirm whether any appliance image falls between April 5, 2017 and May 3, 2017.
- Verify SSH host key uniqueness across appliances using authorized administrative access.
- Check administrative records for completed Rapid7 advisory remediation.
- Confirm old affected virtual appliance images are removed from templates and build repositories.
Public sources used
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-321: 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-2017-5242 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N1.35.8Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.7HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Source materials
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.
Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key
Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.