Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2018-19518


University of Washington IMAP Toolkit 2007f on UNIX, as used in imap_open() in PHP and other products, launches an rsh command (by means of the imap_rimap function in c-client/imap4r1.c and the tcp_aopen function in osdep/unix/tcp_unix.c) without preventing argument injection, which might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands if the IMAP server name is untrusted input (e.g., entered by a user of a web application) and if rsh has been replaced by a program with different argument semantics. For example, if rsh is a link to ssh (as seen on Debian and Ubuntu systems), then the attack can use an IMAP server name containing a "-oProxyCommand" argument.


Security Impact Summary

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 but requires specific conditions to be met 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 4 products from php, from debian, from uw-imap_project and 1 other, 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

2018-11-25T10:29:00.250

Last Modified

2024-11-21T03:58:04.993

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: SINGLE
  • Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
  • Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

6.8

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-88

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application php php ≤ 5.6.38 Yes
Application php php ≤ 7.0.32 Yes
Application php php ≤ 7.1.24 Yes
Application php php ≤ 7.2.12 Yes
Operating System debian debian_linux 8.0 Yes
Operating System debian debian_linux 9.0 Yes
Application uw-imap_project uw-imap 2007f Yes
Operating System canonical ubuntu_linux 16.04 Yes
Operating System canonical ubuntu_linux 18.04 Yes
Operating System canonical ubuntu_linux 19.04 Yes

References

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 php'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.