Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization. This could make it easy to conduct denial of service attacks against Expat by constructing an XML document that would cause pathological hash collisions in Expat's internal data structures, consuming large amounts CPU and RAM. The vulnerability exists in Python versions 3.7.0, 3.6.0 through 3.6.6, 3.5.0 through 3.5.6, 3.4.0 through 3.4.9, 2.7.0 through 2.7.15.
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 8 products from python, from canonical, from debian and 5 others, 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.
2018-09-25T00:29:00.703
2024-11-21T03:49:30.067
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 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 | python | python | ≤ 2.7.15 | Yes |
| Application | python | python | ≤ 3.4.9 | Yes |
| Application | python | python | ≤ 3.5.6 | Yes |
| Application | python | python | ≤ 3.6.6 | Yes |
| Application | python | python | 3.7.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 12.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 14.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 16.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | canonical | ubuntu_linux | 18.04 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 8.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | debian | debian_linux | 9.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | fedoraproject | fedora | 30 | Yes |
| Operating System | opensuse | leap | 15.1 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux_desktop | 7.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux_server | 7.0 | Yes |
| Operating System | redhat | enterprise_linux_workstation | 7.0 | 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 python'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.