LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2018-10998: An issue was discovered in Exiv2 0.26.

An issue was discovered in Exiv2 0.26. readMetadata in jp2image.cpp allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SIGABRT) by triggering an incorrect Safe::add call.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2018-10998 is a denial-of-service flaw in Exiv2 0.26, a metadata parser. A specially crafted JP2/JPEG 2000 image can make Exiv2 abort while reading metadata. Business risk is service disruption where systems process untrusted images.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for internet-facing upload paths and automated media processing. This is primarily an availability risk, not documented data theft or code execution. Patch during normal vulnerability maintenance unless critical services process untrusted images continuously.

Technical view

The issue is in readMetadata in jp2image.cpp. The CVE description attributes the crash to an incorrect Safe::add call that results in SIGABRT. Sources identify Exiv2 0.26 and multiple Linux distribution security updates. No CVSS, CWE, or KEV listing is provided in the bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where Exiv2 or libexiv2 processes untrusted image metadata, including upload services, media pipelines, CMS tooling, forensic workflows, and packaged Linux applications. The bundle does not identify broader affected product versions beyond Exiv2 0.26.

Exploitation context

The CVE states remote attackers can cause denial of service. The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence, so treat exploitation as plausible through malicious image processing, not confirmed in the wild.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to a crash condition in Exiv2 0.26 and vendor security advisories. The bundle lacks CVSS, CWE, fixed upstream commit details, and active exploitation confirmation. Validate by package inventory and vendor advisory matching, not assumptions about all Exiv2 versions.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor-provided Exiv2 security updates for affected Linux distributions.
  • Check Exiv2 upstream and distribution advisories for fixed package versions.
  • Restrict processing of untrusted JP2/JPEG 2000 files where feasible.
  • Run image metadata processing in isolated, restartable worker processes.
  • Monitor services for abnormal Exiv2 crashes or SIGABRT events.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems, containers, and applications using Exiv2 or libexiv2.
  • Identify any installed Exiv2 0.26 packages or linked libraries.
  • Compare package versions against Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, and Red Hat advisories.
  • Review workflows that parse image metadata from untrusted sources.
  • Check crash telemetry for Exiv2 jp2image.cpp or readMetadata failures.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

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

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2018-10998 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
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
7Source 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.