# CVE-2018-0500: Memory corruption in curl before 7.61.0

> Heap-based buffer overflow in curl's SMTP handling allows attackers to execute code or cause denial of service when nonstandard buffer settings are used.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2018-0500, CLEANSTART-2026-OO33061, CURL-CVE-2018-0500, DEBIAN-CVE-2018-0500, GHSA-rg4c-f6cj-x9w8, SUSE-SU-2018:2423-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-0500, USN-3710-1

## What is CVE-2018-0500?

CVE-2018-0500 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 11 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Curl_smtp_escape_eob in lib/smtp.c in curl 7.54.1 to and including curl 7.60.0 has a heap-based buffer overflow that might be exploitable by an attacker who can control the data that curl transmits over SMTP with certain settings (i.e., use of a nonstandard --limit-rate argument or CURLOPT_BUFFERSIZE value).

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0500?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `curl` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 | All versions | 7.60.0-3.6.4 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Haxx Curl.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0500?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-0500 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0500 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0500 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0500 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 11 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0500 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0500/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0500/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0500
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0500
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0500

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0500/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.