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CVE Record

CVE-2018-1000115: Memcached version 1.5.5 contains an Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification,...

Memcached version 1.5.5 contains an Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification, CWE-406) vulnerability in the UDP support of the memcached server that can result in denial of service via network flood (traffic amplification of 1:50,000 has been reported by reliable sources). This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity to port 11211 UDP. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 1.5.6 due to the disabling of the UDP protocol by default.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This issue lets exposed memcached UDP services be abused as traffic amplifiers for denial-of-service attacks. The business risk is not data theft; it is service disruption and your infrastructure being used to attack others. The source bundle reports amplification as high as 1:50,000 and notes UDP was disabled by default in memcached 1.5.6.

Executive priority

Prioritize immediate containment for any Internet-exposed memcached UDP service. This is a high-impact DDoS amplification risk with clear configuration and upgrade paths, even though the source bundle does not include a CVSS score.

Technical view

CVE-2018-1000115 is CWE-406-style network amplification in memcached 1.5.5 UDP support. Exposure requires network reachability to UDP port 11211. The listed fix direction is memcached 1.5.6, which disables UDP by default. Multiple vendor advisories are cited, but the bundle does not provide CVSS details.

Likely exposure

Most exposure is Internet-accessible memcached over UDP/11211, especially version 1.5.5 or deployments where UDP remains enabled. Internal-only deployments still matter if attackers can reach that network path.

Exploitation context

The bundle marks KEV as false, so do not treat it as CISA-confirmed current exploitation. Public exploit references and Akamai reporting of large memcached-fueled attacks indicate practical abuse was publicly documented in 2018.

Researcher notes

The narrow confirmed product detail is memcached 1.5.5 UDP support, fixed by disabling UDP by default in 1.5.6. Distribution advisories may cover backported fixes, so validate package changelogs rather than relying only on upstream version strings.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade to memcached 1.5.6 or vendor-fixed packages where applicable.
  • Disable memcached UDP support unless there is a documented requirement.
  • Block external UDP/11211 at network boundaries.
  • Restrict memcached access to trusted application hosts only.
  • Review Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, or appliance vendor guidance for packaged deployments.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory hosts running memcached and record versions.
  • Confirm whether UDP/11211 is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Check firewall, security group, and load balancer exposure for UDP/11211.
  • Verify vendor package advisory status on affected Linux distributions.
  • Monitor for unusual outbound UDP traffic volume from memcached hosts.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2018-1000115 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
16Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.