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Full vulnerability report · 2018
CVE-2018-18440High confidence

DENX U-Boot through 2018.09-rc1 has a locally exploitable buffer overflow via a crafted kernel image because filesystem loading is mishandled

n/a · n/a

7.8HighCVSS 3.0
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Mitigation available
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
SSA-618620 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · interimSiemens ProductCERTSSA-618620: Vulnerabilities in Boot Loader (U-Boot) of RUGGEDCOM ROS Devices
22 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V4.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V5.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V4.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V5.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V4.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V5.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V4.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V5.X
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG907R
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG908C
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG909R
  • RUGGEDCOM RSG910C
Summary
The embedded DENX U-Boot boot loader has a locally exploitable buffer overflow via a crafted kernel image because filesystem loading is mishandled. The security vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker with local access to the affected systems. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to compromise confidentiality, integrity and availability of the system. At the time of advisory publication no public exploitation of this security vulnerability was known.
Remediation
Disable boot interface access during boot up via the 'bootoption.txt' file parameter 'Security = yes' to mitigate CVE-2018-18440.
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2018-10168

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Mitigation available
01

What, why and how

DENX U-Boot through 2018.09-rc1 has a locally exploitable buffer overflow via a crafted kernel image because filesystem loading is mishandled.

What

DENX U-Boot through 2018.09-rc1 has a locally exploitable buffer overflow via a crafted kernel image because filesystem loading is mishandled.

Why

The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

DENX U-Boot through 2018.09-rc1 has a locally exploitable buffer overflow via a crafted kernel image because filesystem loading is mishandled.

Why

The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Reference recorded

A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.

Likely attack path
local access → Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-119 ↗

CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
CWE-119Public exploit reference
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Mitigation available
Affected
RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RMC8388 V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RMC8388NC V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG2488 V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG2488NC V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG907R; RUGGEDCOM RSG908C; RUGGEDCOM RSG909R; RUGGEDCOM RSG910C; RUGGEDCOM RSG920P V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG920P V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG920PNC V4.X; RUGGEDCOM RSG920PNC V5.X; RUGGEDCOM RSL910; RUGGEDCOM RSL910NC; RUGGEDCOM RST2228; RUGGEDCOM RST2228P; RUGGEDCOM RST916C; RUGGEDCOM RST916P
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
Apply the mitigation in the linked authoritative guidance while planning the vendor's permanent fix.
Workaround
Disable boot interface access during boot up via the 'bootoption.txt' file parameter 'Security = yes' to mitigate CVE-2018-18440.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 20 Nov 2018 · Last source change 5 Aug 2024, 11:08 UTC · CWE-119 · Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-10168
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed from no authoritative guidance recorded to authoritative remediation link · mitigation.
    Before
    no authoritative guidance recorded
    After
    authoritative remediation link · mitigation
    af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Mitigation available
    af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 ↗
  3. Public exploit evidencePublic exploit evidence changed from No public exploit to Public exploit reference.
    Before
    No public exploit
    After
    Public exploit reference
    af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 ↗
  4. SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to High.
    Before
    Unknown
    After
    High
    NIST NVD ↗
  5. CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 7.8 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    7.8 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
    NIST NVD ↗
  6. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2018-10168 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2018-10168"}
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  7. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Mitigation reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-10168↗Vendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT↗Public exploit reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2018-18440 · cve.blacktree.nl