CVE-2018-16888
What it is
It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.
- Exploit odds
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Fix
- A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.
Timeline
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Why it ranks here
- Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
- Exploit odds: 0.3% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Severity: 4.7 MEDIUM (CVSS).
- Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-250 · Unnecessary privileges
- Record status
- Modified
Affected
- Systemd Project Systemd < 237
- Canonical Ubuntu Linux 16.04
- Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.04
- Canonical Ubuntu Linux 19.10
- Redhat Enterprise Linux 7.0
- Netapp Active Iq Performance Analytics Services
- Netapp Element Software
Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 4.7
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2018-16888.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2018-16888. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
Fix and advisories
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16888
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16888
References
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16888
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/5960a34a524848cd722fd7ab7e2227eac10107b0f90d9d1e9c3caa74%40%3Cuser.cassandra.apache.org%3E
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190307-0007/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4269-1/
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16888
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/5960a34a524848cd722fd7ab7e2227eac10107b0f90d9d1e9c3caa74%40%3Cuser.cassandra.apache.org%3E
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190307-0007/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4269-1/