Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2018-14665

A flaw was found in xorg-x11-server before 1.20.3. An incorrect permission check for -modulepath and -logfile options when starting Xorg. X server allows unprivileged users with the ability to log in to the system via physical console to escalate their privileges and run arbitrary code under root privileges.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.6, with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 9 products from x.org, from redhat, from redhat and 6 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

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.

Published

2018-10-25T20:29:00.250

Last Modified

2025-08-29T13:42:30.557

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 6.6 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-863

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	x.org	x_server	< 1.20.3	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_desktop	7.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server	7.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_aus	7.6	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_eus	7.6	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_server_tus	7.6	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux_workstation	7.0	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.10	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	9.0	Yes

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154942/Xorg-X11-Server-SUID-modulepath-Privilege-Escalation.html ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155276/Xorg-X11-Server-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105741 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041948 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3410 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14665 Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/50c0cf885a6e91c0ea71fb49fa8f1b7c86fe330e Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/8a59e3b7dbb30532a7c3769c555e00d7c4301170 Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2018-October/002927.html Mitigation, Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201810-09 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3802-1/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4328 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45697/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45742/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45832/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45908/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45922/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45938/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46142/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://www.securepatterns.com/2018/10/cve-2018-14665-xorg-x-server.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154942/Xorg-X11-Server-SUID-modulepath-Privilege-Escalation.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155276/Xorg-X11-Server-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105741 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041948 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3410 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14665 Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/50c0cf885a6e91c0ea71fb49fa8f1b7c86fe330e Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/8a59e3b7dbb30532a7c3769c555e00d7c4301170 Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2018-October/002927.html Mitigation, Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201810-09 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3802-1/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4328 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45697/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45742/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45832/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45908/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45922/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45938/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46142/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.securepatterns.com/2018/10/cve-2018-14665-xorg-x-server.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

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 x.org'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.