Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-20455 is a crash risk in radare2 before 3.1.1. A specially crafted input file can trigger a stack-based buffer overflow in x86 operand parsing, causing the application to crash. The available sources describe denial of service, not confirmed code execution or active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted operational resilience issue, not an internet-wide emergency. Prioritize remediation where radare2 processes hostile samples or untrusted files, because crashes can disrupt analysis workflows.
Technical view
The issue is in parseOperand within libr/asm/p/asm_x86_nz.c in radare2 before 3.1.1. Crafted input can cause a stack-based buffer overflow leading to application crash. The record links it to CVE-2018-20456, but provides no CVSS, CWE, or detailed exploitation evidence.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where vulnerable radare2 versions analyze untrusted or attacker-supplied files, such as malware analysis, reverse engineering, triage pipelines, or automated file inspection workflows.
Exploitation context
The source record supports crafted-file denial of service only. KEV is false, and the provided bundle contains no evidence of active exploitation, public weaponization, or impact beyond application crash.
Researcher notes
The record is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, or detailed affected CPE data is provided. Keep analysis constrained to radare2 before 3.1.1 and denial-of-service behavior unless additional vendor or exploit evidence is obtained.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade radare2 to version 3.1.1 or later.
- Check radare2 vendor guidance and the referenced fix commit.
- Avoid processing untrusted files with vulnerable radare2 builds.
- Run file-analysis tooling in isolated, recoverable environments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory radare2 installations and record their versions.
- Confirm no production workflow uses radare2 before 3.1.1.
- Review automated analysis pipelines for untrusted file handling.
- Verify upgrade completion on analyst workstations and CI systems.
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-2018-20455 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/radare/radare2/commit/9b46d38dd3c4de6048a488b655c7319f845af185CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/radare/radare2/issues/12373CVE 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.