CVE-2018-6554: Medium severity Linux Linux kernel vulnerability

Published Sep 4, 2018
·
Updated

Last updated 25 August 2025

Other sources

Memory leak in the irdabind function in net/irda/afirda.c and later in drivers/staging/irda/net/afirda.c in the Linux kernel before 4.17 allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by repeatedly binding an AFIRDA socket.

Launchpad

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel<4.17
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=12.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=14.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.262-16.1.176-16.1.180-16.12.94-16.12.101-17.1.8-17.1.8-2

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.10.223-1Fixed in 5.10.262-1Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.180-1Fixed in 6.12.94-1Fixed in 6.12.101-1Fixed in 7.1.8-1Fixed in 7.1.8-2

Event History

Sep 4, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·06:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·06:00 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·06:29 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:09 PM
Description
Aug 26, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:24 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Aug 16, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·11:52 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2018-6554?

CVE-2018-6554 is a memory leak vulnerability in the irda_bind function in the Linux kernel before version 4.17.

2

How does CVE-2018-6554 impact the system?

CVE-2018-6554 can be exploited by local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by repeatedly binding an AF_IRDA socket.

3

Which systems are affected by CVE-2018-6554?

Systems running Linux kernel versions before 4.17 are affected by CVE-2018-6554.

4

What is the severity of CVE-2018-6554?

The severity of CVE-2018-6554 is medium.

5

How can I fix CVE-2018-6554?

To fix CVE-2018-6554, update the Linux kernel to version 4.17 or later.

Contact

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