# CVE-2018-12679: CoAPthon3 vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data

> Attackers can cause denial of service in CoAPthon3 applications by sending crafted CoAP messages that trigger unhandled exceptions during deserialization.

- **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:** No
- **Published:** 2 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c6fm-rgw4-8q73, PYSEC-2019-166

## What is CVE-2018-12679?

CVE-2018-12679 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in n/a, published on 2 Apr 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Serialize.deserialize() method in CoAPthon3 1.0 and 1.0.1 mishandles certain exceptions, leading to a denial of service in applications that use this library (e.g., the standard CoAP server, CoAP client, example collect CoAP server and client) when they receive crafted CoAP messages.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12679?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including coapthon3 and CoAPthon3. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `coapthon3` | PyPI | All versions to 1.0.1 | None |
| `coapthon3` | PyPI | From 1.0 | None |
| `CoAPthon3` | PyPI | All versions to 1.0.1 | None |

Products: Coapthon3 Project Coapthon3.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12679?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-12679 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-12679 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12679 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12679 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12679 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in n/a, published on 2 Apr 2019. 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-2018-12679 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- coapthon3 (PyPI): affected all versions up to 1.0.1; no fix listed
- coapthon3 (PyPI): affected from 1.0; no fix listed
- CoAPthon3 (PyPI): affected all versions up to 1.0.1; no fix listed

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-2018-12679/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12679/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12679
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12679
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12679

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12679/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.