Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
- EPSS is 0.43% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2018
CVE-2018-20348High confidence
Affected product: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Unknown · Unknown
5.5MediumCVSS 3.0
Within 7 days
Fix not verifiedMedium technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Unknown Unknown and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Distribution package intelligence
4 package statesRelease-specific package status
Debian findings are scoped to the named distribution, release and source package. An absent finding does not mean a package is unaffected.
Repository candidate not checked
A published vendor fix does not prove that a matching update is enabled and installable on a particular asset. Confirm the local package candidate before scheduling remediation.
| Distribution release | Source package | Vendor state | Fixed version | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian trixietrixie · source | libpff | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 20180714-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026 |
| Debian bookwormbookworm · source | libpff | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 20180714-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026 |
| Debian forkyforky · source | libpff | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 20180714-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026 |
| Debian sidsid · source | libpff | Vendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release. | 20180714-1 | Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026 |
Medium technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
libpff_item_tree_create_node in libpff_item_tree.c in libpff before experimental-20180714 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) via a crafted file, related to libfdata_tree_get_node_value in libfdata_tree.c.
What
libpff_item_tree_create_node in libpff_item_tree.c in libpff before experimental-20180714 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) via a crafted file, related to libfdata_tree_get_node_value in libfdata_tree.c.
Why
A malformed condition prevents a loop from making progress or terminating, allowing resource exhaustion.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
What
libpff_item_tree_create_node in libpff_item_tree.c in libpff before experimental-20180714 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite recursion) via a crafted file, related to libfdata_tree_get_node_value in libfdata_tree.c.
Why
A malformed condition prevents a loop from making progress or terminating, allowing resource exhaustion.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.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 Reference recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.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 → Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') → disrupt the affected service
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- 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-835 ↗
CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'). The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.
- 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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HCommon 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.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.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.
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. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- n/a
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 22 Dec 2018 · Last source change 5 Aug 2024, 11:58 UTC · CWE-835 · Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-12906
Product sourceUnavailable
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2018-12906 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- {"euvdId":"EUVD-2018-12906"}
- Public exploit evidencePublic exploit evidence changed from No public exploit to Public exploit reference.github.com ↗
- Before
- No public exploit
- After
- Public exploit reference
- SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to Medium.NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- Unknown
- After
- Medium
- CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 5.5 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- 5.5 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
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.