CVE-2018-16842: Critical severity haxx curl vulnerability

Published Oct 30, 2018
·
Updated

Curl versions 7.14.1 through 7.61.1 are vulnerable to a heap-based buffer over-read in the toolmsgs.c:voutf() function.

This display function formats the output to wrap at 80 columns. The wrap logic is however flawed, so if a single word in the message is itself longer than 80 bytes the buffer arithmetic calculates the remainder wrong and will end up reading behind the end of the buffer. This could lead to information disclosure or crash.

Other sources

Curl versions 7.14.1 through 7.61.1 are vulnerable to a heap-based buffer over-read in the toolmsgs.c:voutf() function that may result in information exposure and denial of service.

Launchpad

Affected Software

10 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/curl<7.62.0
7.62.0
haxx curl>=7.14.1<=7.61.1
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=12.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=14.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.10
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
debian/curl
7.74.0-1.3+deb11u137.74.0-1.3+deb11u167.88.1-10+deb12u147.88.1-10+deb12u58.14.1-2+deb13u28.19.0-38.20.0~rc3-1

Event History

Oct 31, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:00 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:54 PM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·05:44 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 24, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·09:29 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2018-16842?

CVE-2018-16842 is a vulnerability in Curl versions 7.14.1 through 7.61.1 that allows for a heap-based buffer over-read in the tool_msgs.c:voutf() function, potentially resulting in information exposure and denial of service.

2

How severe is CVE-2018-16842?

CVE-2018-16842 has a severity rating of 9.1 (critical).

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2018-16842?

Curl versions 7.14.1 through 7.61.1 are affected by CVE-2018-16842.

4

How do I fix CVE-2018-16842?

To fix CVE-2018-16842, update to one of the following versions: 7.64.0-4+deb10u2, 7.64.0-4+deb10u7, 7.74.0-1.3+deb11u9, 7.74.0-1.3+deb11u10, 7.88.1-10+deb12u3, 7.88.1-10+deb12u4, or 8.4.0-2.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2018-16842?

You can find more information about CVE-2018-16842 at the following references: [1] https://curl.haxx.se/docs/CVE-2018-16842.html [2] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16842 [3] https://github.com/curl/curl/commit/d530e92f59ae9bb2d47066c3c460b25d2ffeb211

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