Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-16839 is a curl buffer overrun in SASL authentication handling. The sourced impact is denial of service, not data theft or code execution. It matters where vulnerable curl versions are installed and used with SASL-backed authentication paths.
Executive priority
Treat as a routine but real availability-risk patching item. Prioritize internet-facing, automation-heavy, and image-based environments where vulnerable curl may persist, but do not treat it as emergency-level without exploitation evidence.
Technical view
Curl 7.33.0 through 7.61.1 contain a buffer overrun in SASL authentication code, mapped to CWE-122 and CWE-190. CVSS 3.0 is 4.3 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, and low availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems, build images, appliances, or applications carrying curl 7.33.0 through 7.61.1 and exercising SASL authentication. Distribution advisories from Debian, Ubuntu, and Gentoo indicate packaged curl updates were issued.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. CVSS indicates remote reachability but user interaction is required. The documented consequence is availability loss through denial of service.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a SASL authentication buffer overrun with denial-of-service impact in curl 7.33.0-7.61.1. The bundle includes vendor advisories and an upstream commit, but no exploit-in-the-wild confirmation or detailed operational trigger conditions.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory curl versions across hosts, containers, and base images.
- Apply vendor curl security updates from the relevant distribution.
- Upgrade curl beyond the affected 7.33.0 through 7.61.1 range where feasible.
- Check the Curl Project advisory for exact fixed-version guidance.
- Rebuild and redeploy images that embed vulnerable curl packages.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed curl package versions are outside the affected range or vendor-patched.
- Review SBOMs and container images for bundled curl 7.33.0-7.61.1.
- Identify services or jobs using curl with SASL authentication paths.
- Verify Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo, or other vendor advisories are applied.
- Track remediation evidence in vulnerability management records.
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 lookupCWE-190: 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-2018-16839 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.3 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- GLSA-201903-03CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- DSA-4331CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
- [debian-lts-announce] 20181106 [SECURITY] [DLA 1568-1] curl security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- https://curl.haxx.se/docs/CVE-2018-16839.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/curl/curl/commit/f3a24d7916b9173c69a3e0ee790102993833d6c5CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16839CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- USN-3805-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- [infra-devnull] 20190404 [GitHub] [incubator-openwhisk-runtime-ballerina] falkzoll commented on issue #15: Update to new base image jdk8u202-b08_openj9-0.12.1.CVE 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.
Integer Overflow or Wraparound
Integer Overflow or Wraparound represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.