CVE-2018-16866
published 2019-01-11CVE-2018-16866: An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw…
PriorityP412low3.3CVSS 3.1
AVLACLPRLUINSUCLINAN
EPSS
1.05%
60.4th percentile
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
Affected
36 ranges· showing 25
| Vendor | Product | Version range | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | — | — |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | — | — |
| canonical | ubuntu_linux | — | — |
| debian | debian_linux | — | — |
| debian | systemd | < systemd 240-1 (bookworm) | systemd 240-1 (bookworm) |
| msrc | cbl_mariner_1.0_arm | — | — |
| msrc | cbl_mariner_1.0_x64 | — | — |
| msrc | cm1_systemd_239-31_on_cbl_mariner_1.0 | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_compute_node_eus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_desktop | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian_eus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_for_scientific_computing | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_aus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_aus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_for_power_little_endian_update_services_for_sap_solution | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_for_power_little_endian_update_services_for_sap_solution | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_tus | — | — |
| redhat | enterprise_linux_server_tus | — | — |
CVSS provenance
nvdv3.13.3LOWCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
nvdv3.04.3MEDIUMCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
nvdv2.02.1LOWAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
osv7.8HIGH
vendor_ubuntu7.8HIGH
vendor_debian3.3LOW
vendor_msrc3.3LOW
vendor_redhat3.3LOW
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GHSA
GHSA-jr8q-jw7m-4m3m: An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'
ghsa_unreviewed·2022-05-13
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CWE-125 GHSA-jr8q-jw7m-4m3m: An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
OSV
systemd vulnerabilities
osv·2019-01-11·CVSS 7.8
CVE-2018-16864 [HIGH] systemd vulnerabilities
systemd vulnerabilities
It was discovered that systemd-journald allocated variable-length buffers
for certain message fields on the stack. A local attacker could
potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, or execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-16864)
It was discovered that systemd-journald allocated variable-length arrays
of objects representing message fields on the stack. A local attacker
could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, or execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-16865)
An out-of-bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald. A local
attacker could potentially exploit this to obtain sensitive information
and bypass ASLR protections. (CVE-2018-16866)
OSV
CVE-2018-16866: An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'
osv·2019-01-11·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CVE-2018-16866: An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
Ubuntu
systemd vulnerabilities
vendor_ubuntu·2019-01-11·CVSS 7.8
CVE-2018-16864 [HIGH] systemd vulnerabilities
Title: systemd vulnerabilities
Summary: Several security issues were fixed in systemd.
It was discovered that systemd-journald allocated variable-length buffers
for certain message fields on the stack. A local attacker could
potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, or execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-16864)
It was discovered that systemd-journald allocated variable-length arrays
of objects representing message fields on the stack. A local attacker
could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service, or execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-16865)
An out-of-bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald. A local
attacker could potentially exploit this to obtain sensitive information
and bypass ASLR protections. (CVE-2018-16866)
Instructions: After a standard system u
Red Hat
systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
vendor_redhat·2019-01-09·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CWE-125 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data.
Statement: This issue affects the versions of systemd as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. Red Hat Product Security has rated this issue as having a security impact of Moderate. For additional information, refer to the Issue Severity Classification: https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/clas
Microsoft
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions
vendor_msrc·2019-01-08·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CWE-125 An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
FAQ: Is Azure Linux the only Microsoft product that includes this open-source library and is therefore potentially affected by this vulnerability?
One of the main benefits to our customers who choose to use the Azure Linux distro is the commitment to keep it up to date with the most recent and most secure versions of the open source libraries with which the distro is composed. Microsoft is committed to transparency in this work which is why we began publishing CSAF/VEX in October 2025. See this blog post for more information. If impact to additional products
Debian
CVE-2018-16866: systemd - An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses lo...
vendor_debian·2018·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CVE-2018-16866: systemd - An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses lo...
An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.
Scope: local
bookworm: resolved (fixed in 240-1)
bullseye: resolved (fixed in 240-1)
forky: resolved (fixed in 240-1)
sid: resolved (fixed in 240-1)
trixie: resolved (fixed in 240-1)
No detection rules found.
No public exploits indexed.
Bugzilla
CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message [fedora-all]
bugzilla·2019-01-10·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message [fedora-all]
CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message [fedora-all]
This is an automatically created tracking bug! It was created to ensure
that one or more security vulnerabilities are fixed in affected versions
of fedora-all.
For comments that are specific to the vulnerability please use bugs filed
against the "Security Response" product referenced in the "Blocks" field.
For more information see:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security/TrackingBugs
When submitting as an update, use the fedpkg template provided in the next
comment(s). This will include the bug IDs of this tracking bug as well as
the relevant top-level CVE bugs.
Please also mention the CVE IDs being fixed in the RPM changelog and the
fedpkg commit message.
NOTE: this issue affects multiple su
Bugzilla
CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
bugzilla·2018-11-27·CVSS 3.3
CVE-2018-16866 [LOW] CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
CVE-2018-16866 systemd: out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message
A flaw was found in systemd-journald. An out-of-bounds read when parsing a crafted syslog message that could lead to information disclosure.
Discussion:
This vulnerability was introduced in systemd v221.
---
Acknowledgments:
Name: Qualys Research Labs
---
Function syslog_parse_identifier() in journald-syslog.c file does not properly parse the log string in case it ends with a ":", returning a pointer beyond the original string's limits. A local attacker may use this flaw to get disclose systemd-journal process memory and get an information leak.
---
The flaw was introduced in:
https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/ec5ff4445cca6a1d786b8da36cf6fe0acc0b94c8
It was fixed with:
https://github.com/sys
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152841/System-Down-A-systemd-journald-Exploit.htmlhttp://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/May/21http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/05/10/4http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106527https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3222https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0593https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16866https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/25https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-07https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190117-0001/https://usn.ubuntu.com/3855-1/https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4367https://www.qualys.com/2019/01/09/system-down/system-down.txthttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152841/System-Down-A-systemd-journald-Exploit.htmlhttp://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/May/21http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/05/10/4http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106527https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3222https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0593https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16866https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/25https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-07https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190117-0001/https://usn.ubuntu.com/3855-1/https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4367https://www.qualys.com/2019/01/09/system-down/system-down.txt
2019-01-11
Published