# CVE-2018-11646: Null dereference in n/a

> An attacker can cause an application crash in WebKitGTK by triggering a null pointer dereference in the favicon database handling.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 1 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-11646, GHSA-q2c8-4vmf-78h5, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-11646

## What is CVE-2018-11646?

CVE-2018-11646 is a high-severity vulnerability in Webkitgtk Webkitgtk\+, published on 1 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

webkitFaviconDatabaseSetIconForPageURL and webkitFaviconDatabaseSetIconURLForPageURL in UIProcess/API/glib/WebKitFaviconDatabase.cpp in WebKit, as used in WebKitGTK+ through 2.21.3, mishandle an unset pageURL, leading to an application crash.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-11646?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Webkitgtk Webkitgtk\+.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-11646?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-11646 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-11646 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WebKitGTK+ WebKitFaviconDatabase DoS (metasploit)
- WebKitGTK+ < 2.21.3 - Crash (PoC) (exploitdb)
- WebKitGTK+ < 2.21.3 - 'WebKitFaviconDatabase' Denial of Service (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Webkitgtk Webkitgtk\+

- [CVE-2017-1000121](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000121/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-11712](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11712/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-1000122](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-1000122/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-11646 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-11646 is a high-severity vulnerability in Webkitgtk Webkitgtk\+, published on 1 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-11646 exists.

Affected product: Webkitgtk Webkitgtk\+. 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-2018-11646/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11646/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11646
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11646
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-11646

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11646/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.