Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-1123 is a low-severity flaw in the Linux procps-ng/procps ps utility. A local user can trigger a crash, causing temporary denial of service. The source data says built-in guard-page protection limits impact to a crash, not broader system compromise.
Executive priority
Handle through normal patch management unless affected systems allow untrusted local users. Business risk is limited because sources describe temporary denial of service, not remote compromise or privilege escalation.
Technical view
procps-ng before 3.3.15 has an mmap buffer overflow in ps, classified as CWE-122. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, and user interaction required. Guard-page mapping at the end of the affected buffer limits impact to a ps crash.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly Linux systems with vulnerable procps-ng/procps packages, especially older distributions or container images. Internet-facing exposure is not indicated because the issue is local.
Exploitation context
The bundle includes a public Exploit-DB reference, so proof-of-concept material exists. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not establish active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
The key constraint is impact: the source description says ps guard-page protection limits the overflow to a crash. Treat public exploit availability as validation relevance, not evidence of active attacks.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade procps-ng/procps using the relevant Linux vendor security update.
- Use version 3.3.15 or vendor-fixed backports where applicable.
- Prioritize shared shell, build, and multi-user Linux hosts.
- Review container base images for vulnerable procps packages.
- Check distro advisories for exact fixed package versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed procps-ng/procps package versions across Linux hosts and images.
- Compare package versions against Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, Red Hat, or SUSE advisories.
- Confirm scanners identify CVE-2018-1123 as remediated after updates.
- Check for legacy images that still include older procps packages.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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.
CWE-122: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-1123 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.9 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L1.32.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
3.9LowVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- USN-3658-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- DSA-4208CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
- GLSA-201805-14CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- 44806CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- [debian-lts-announce] 20180531 [SECURITY] [DLA 1390-1] procps security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- USN-3658-3CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-1123CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://www.qualys.com/2018/05/17/procps-ng-audit-report-advisory.txtCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- [bookkeeper-issues] 20210628 [GitHub] [bookkeeper] padma81 opened a new issue #2746: Security Vulnerabilities in CentOS 7 image, Upgrade image to CentOS 8CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [bookkeeper-issues] 20210629 [GitHub] [bookkeeper] padma81 opened a new issue #2746: Security Vulnerabilities in CentOS 7 image, Upgrade image to CentOS 8CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Heap-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.