Memcached version 1.5.5 contains an Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification, CWE-406) vulnerability in the UDP support of the memcached server that can result in denial of service via network flood (traffic amplification of 1:50,000 has been reported by reliable sources). This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity to port 11211 UDP. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 1.5.6 due to the disabling of the UDP protocol by default.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from memcached, from canonical, from debian and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
First disclosed in 2018, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.
2018-03-05T14:29:00.203
2024-11-21T03:39:40.657
Modified
CVSSv3.0: 7.5 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
10.0
2.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | memcached | memcached | 1.5.5 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 16.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 17.10 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 8.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 9.0 | Yes |
| Application | redhat | openstack | 8 | Yes |
| Application | redhat | openstack | 9 | Yes |
| Application | redhat | openstack | 10 | Yes |
| Application | redhat | openstack | 11 | Yes |
| Application | redhat | openstack | 12 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For memcached's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.