Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can let an attacker overload systemd-journald, a core Linux logging service, by sending many journal entries. Successful abuse can crash logging or potentially run code with journald privileges. Remote risk is noted only when systemd-journal-remote is in use.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on shared Linux servers, externally connected logging paths, and systems with untrusted local users. The issue affects a core service and can impact availability and privilege boundaries.
Technical view
CVE-2018-16865 is a CWE-770 uncontrolled resource allocation flaw in systemd-journald. Versions through v240 can allocate memory without limits, causing a stack clash with another memory region. The CVSS v3.0 score is 7.5, with high attack complexity and low privileges required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on Linux systems using vulnerable systemd versions through v240. Risk is primarily local unless systemd-journal-remote is deployed, which the CVE description identifies as a remote path.
Exploitation context
The bundle includes public exploit-related references, but KEV is false and no cited source here confirms active exploitation. Treat exploit availability as a validation priority, not proof of current attacks.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports vulnerable systemd through v240, local exploitation, and remote exposure only with systemd-journal-remote. The bundle does not provide a universal fixed version, so remediation should be tied to vendor advisories and package backports.
Mitigation direction
- Apply vendor security updates from the affected Linux distribution or appliance vendor.
- Prioritize hosts running systemd through v240 or affected vendor builds.
- Disable or restrict systemd-journal-remote where it is not required.
- Follow Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo, NetApp, or Oracle guidance for affected platforms.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systemd versions and distro package advisory status across Linux assets.
- Identify whether systemd-journal-remote is installed, enabled, or reachable.
- Confirm vendor fixed packages are installed on affected systems.
- Review service health for systemd-journald crashes or repeated restarts.
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-770: 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-2018-16865 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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2019:0342CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190123 [SECURITY] [DLA 1639-1] systemd security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- DSA-4367CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
- RHSA-2019:0204CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16865CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190117-0001/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://www.qualys.com/2019/01/09/system-down/system-down.txtCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- USN-3855-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- RHSA-2019:0049CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2019:0271CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2019:0361CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- GLSA-201903-07CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2019-5072813.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- RHBA-2019:0327CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- 20190513 Re: System Down: A systemd-journald exploitCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ
- RHSA-2019:2402CVE 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.
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.