# CVE-2018-14648: Denial of service in 389-ds-base: > An unauthenticated attacker can cause excessive CPU consumption and denial of service in 389 Directory Server via a crafted search query. - **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:** 28 Sep 2018 - **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-14648, DLA-1554-1, GHSA-pghh-mx5f-3vcv, MGASA-2018-0461, RHSA-2018:3127, RHSA-2018:3507, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-14648 ## What is CVE-2018-14648? CVE-2018-14648 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 28 Sep 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description A flaw was found in 389 Directory Server. A specially crafted search query could lead to excessive CPU consumption in the do_search() function. An unauthenticated attacker could use this flaw to provoke a denial of service. Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-14648? It affects 3 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.3.8.4-15.el7 | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | | `389-ds-base-snmp` | Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server | All versions | 0:1.3.7.5-29.el7_5 | Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject 389 Directory Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2018-14648? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2018-14648 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-14648 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux - [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2018-14648 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2018-14648 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 28 Sep 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-2018-14648 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Debian Debian 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-2018-14648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14648/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-14648 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14648 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-14648 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14648/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.