CVE-2018-16888

MEDIUM
4.7
CVSS Score
Published: January 14, 2019 at 10:00 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 01:45 AM UTC
6 products affected across 5 vendorsUbuntu LinuxEnterprise LinuxElement Software

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Severity
MEDIUM4.7
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.3%

Description

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 237
Affected range stops below 237, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (5)

Vendor Advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2091
x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16888
Vendor Advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUThird Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4269-1/

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-250CWE-269

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