Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This CVE describes a command-injection risk in nmap4j 1.1.0. If an application passes attacker-controlled host values into includeHosts, shell metacharacters may let the attacker run arbitrary commands on the host running the application.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority where nmap4j 1.1.0 is reachable from external or tenant-controlled input, because impact could include command execution on application hosts.
Technical view
CVE-2018-17228 states that nmap4j 1.1.0 allows arbitrary command execution via shell metacharacters in an includeHosts call. The provided sources do not include CVSS, CWE mapping, a fixed version, or detailed remediation beyond the referenced GitHub issue.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in applications that depend on nmap4j 1.1.0 and pass user-supplied or externally controlled host strings into includeHosts.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Public evidence here supports vulnerability existence, not current exploitation prevalence.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: the CVE record identifies the vulnerable call and version, but provides no CVSS, CWE, fixed release, or exploitation details. Validation should focus on actual data flow into includeHosts.
Mitigation direction
- Identify any use of nmap4j 1.1.0 in production applications.
- Do not pass untrusted input directly into includeHosts.
- Validate host input with strict IP or hostname allowlists before use.
- Run affected services with least-privilege operating-system permissions.
- Check maintainer guidance for an updated or replacement library.
Validation and detection
- Search dependency manifests for nmap4j 1.1.0.
- Review code paths that call includeHosts.
- Trace whether includeHosts receives user, API, file, or queue input.
- Confirm host input rejects shell metacharacters before library invocation.
- Review runtime permissions of systems executing nmap through the application.
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
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CVE-2018-17228 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/narkisr/nmap4j/issues/9CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.