Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-14618 is a high-severity curl NTLM authentication bug fixed in curl 7.61.1. On 32-bit systems, an extremely large password length can cause bad memory allocation and heap buffer overflow, potentially affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Practical exposure appears narrower because exploitation requires NTLM use, 32-bit size_t, and user interaction.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where legacy 32-bit platforms, appliances, or NTLM-dependent integrations still exist. For mainstream maintained operating systems, confirm vendor patches are applied through normal package management. This is high severity, but the available evidence suggests constrained exploitability and no confirmed active exploitation.
Technical view
curl before 7.61.1 can overflow an integer in Curl_ntlm_core_mk_nt_hash when doubling a password length over 2GB on 32-bit size_t systems. The resulting undersized heap allocation can be overrun during NTLM hash generation. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.5 with high complexity and required user interaction.
Likely exposure
Most likely exposed assets are older 32-bit systems, embedded products, appliances, or distributions running vulnerable curl/libcurl builds with NTLM authentication paths reachable. 64-bit builds and systems not using NTLM are less likely to be practically exposed based on the provided description.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The stated CVSS vector indicates network attack surface, high complexity, no privileges, and required user interaction. Treat this as serious but not currently source-confirmed as exploited in the wild.
Researcher notes
The key condition is integer overflow in password-length doubling on 32-bit size_t, leading to undersized heap allocation and overflow in NTLM hash generation. The bug is described as almost identical to CVE-2017-8816. Evidence is incomplete for exploit availability, product-specific reachability, and interim mitigations beyond vendor patching.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade curl/libcurl to 7.61.1 or a vendor-patched release.
- Apply relevant Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo, Red Hat, SonicWall, or Siemens advisories where applicable.
- For packaged builds, verify vendor backport status instead of relying only on version strings.
- If upgrade timing is uncertain, follow vendor guidance for interim controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems and products using curl or libcurl, including embedded and appliance firmware.
- Confirm whether deployed builds are before 7.61.1 or vendor-patched for CVE-2018-14618.
- Identify 32-bit platforms and workflows that use NTLM authentication through curl/libcurl.
- Check package advisories and changelogs for explicit CVE-2018-14618 remediation.
- Review exposure after updates to ensure vulnerable packages or firmware are no longer present.
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
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Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-131: 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-14618 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.65.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://curl.haxx.se/docs/CVE-2018-14618.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- GLSA-201903-03CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- USN-3765-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- RHSA-2018:3558CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2018-0014CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- DSA-4286CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
- USN-3765-2CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14618CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-436177.pdfCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- RHSA-2019:1880CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
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.
Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size
Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.