Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets a maliciously crafted SMB printer password cause yast2-printer to run unintended commands as root. An attacker must persuade a root user to enter the password in YaST, so urgency is moderate rather than emergency-level.
Executive priority
Prioritize during normal patch cycles for affected SUSE systems, faster where administrators frequently configure SMB printers. The impact is root compromise, but the attack requires social engineering of a privileged user.
Technical view
CVE-2018-20106 is a CWE-78 command injection issue in SUSE yast2-printer up to and including 4.0.2. SMB printer password handling did not properly escape special characters, allowing code execution as root when a privileged user enters such a password.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems using SUSE yast2-printer, especially versions 4.0.2 or older, where administrators configure SMB printers through YaST. Systems without this package or without SMB printer administration through YaST are less likely to be affected.
Exploitation context
The source describes local exploitation requiring high privileges and user interaction: root must be tricked into entering a crafted SMB printer password. The bundle does not cite KEV listing, active exploitation, public exploit maturity, or a named patch version.
Researcher notes
The available evidence is narrow: CVE metadata and a SUSE Bugzilla reference. It supports command injection, affected component, prerequisite conditions, and CVSS 6.5, but does not provide confirmed exploitation, fixed package identifiers, or broad product impact.
Mitigation direction
- Check SUSE or distribution advisories for fixed yast2-printer packages.
- Update yast2-printer where vendor fixes are available.
- Limit YaST printer administration to trusted administrators.
- Avoid entering printer credentials from untrusted sources.
- Treat unusual SMB printer setup requests as social-engineering risk.
Validation and detection
- Inventory systems with yast2-printer installed.
- Identify versions up to and including 4.0.2.
- Review whether YaST manages SMB printers on those systems.
- Confirm vendor advisory status for each distribution version.
- Check administrative procedures for untrusted printer credential handling.
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-78: Command execution behavior lookup
Command injection weaknesses can lead defenders to review execution techniques and command interpreter telemetry. 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-2018-20106 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
- 6.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H0.65.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1114853CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.