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Vulnerability record · CVE-2018-16866 · published 11 January 2019

CVE-2018-16866: Systemd project systemd out-of-bounds read vulnerability

Systemd Project · Systemd

An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.

3.3 CVSS 3.1 Low EPSS 1.1% · top 37.1% CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds readCWE-200 · Information exposure
3.3CVSS 3.1 base score, v2 2.1
1.1%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
21Affected product versions listed by NVD
28References, 2 tagged exploit
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

An out of bounds read was discovered in systemd-journald in the way it parses log messages that terminate with a colon ':'. A local attacker can use this flaw to disclose process memory data. Versions from v221 to v239 are vulnerable.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Affected products

21 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152841/System-Down-A-systemd-journald-Exploit.html Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/May/21 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/05/10/4 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106527 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3222 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0593 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16866 Issue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/25 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-07 Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190117-0001/ Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3855-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4367 Third Party Advisory
https://www.qualys.com/2019/01/09/system-down/system-down.txt ExploitThird Party Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152841/System-Down-A-systemd-journald-Exploit.html Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/May/21 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/05/10/4 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106527 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3222 Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0593 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16866 Issue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/25 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-07 Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190117-0001/ Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3855-1/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4367 Third Party Advisory
https://www.qualys.com/2019/01/09/system-down/system-down.txt ExploitThird Party Advisory

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2018-16866), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-29). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.