Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-19755 is a denial-of-service flaw in Netwide Assembler 2.14rc16. A malformed input path in the preprocessor can trigger an out-of-bounds access and crash NASM. Business impact is most relevant where NASM processes untrusted or externally supplied assembly input, such as build services, analysis pipelines, or shared developer infrastructure.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted operational stability issue, not a confirmed breach-risk issue. Prioritize if NASM is exposed through shared build infrastructure or untrusted code-processing workflows; otherwise handle through routine dependency maintenance.
Technical view
The CVE describes illegal address access in NASM asm/preproc.c, function is_mmacro. A conversion can produce a negative integer, leading to out-of-bounds array access and denial of service. The source bundle identifies NASM 2.14rc16 but does not provide CVSS, CWE, CPE, affected-version range, or confirmed fixed release details.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to systems running NASM 2.14rc16 or closely related builds, especially where NASM handles untrusted source files. Typical risk is process crash rather than data compromise, based on the supplied description.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation, public weaponization, or KEV listing. Exploitation would require causing NASM to process crafted assembler/preprocessor input, making automated build or file-processing workflows the main concern.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The CVE names function is_mmacro in asm/preproc.c and describes negative-integer-driven out-of-bounds access. No CVSS, CWE, CPE, fixed version, or exploitation evidence is provided in the supplied bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory NASM installations and identify any 2.14rc16 usage.
- Review the referenced upstream NASM commit and vendor guidance.
- Upgrade to a confirmed fixed NASM release when identified.
- Avoid processing untrusted assembly input with vulnerable NASM builds.
- Constrain shared build jobs to limit denial-of-service impact.
Validation and detection
- Check whether NASM 2.14rc16 is installed or packaged.
- Review CI and build systems that invoke NASM.
- Determine whether NASM processes externally supplied files.
- Compare local NASM source or package history with the referenced commit.
- Review crash reports for NASM preprocessor failures.
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.
CVE-2018-19755 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://repo.or.cz/nasm.git/commit/3079f7966dbed4497e36d5067cbfd896a90358cbCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://bugzilla.nasm.us/show_bug.cgi?id=3392528CVE 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.