# CVE-2018-14939: Memory corruption in n/a

> Attackers can cause a denial of service via buffer overflow in LibreOffice when launched with malicious pathnames from a remote website.

- **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:** No
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-83w8-rxv4-7jg8

## What is CVE-2018-14939?

CVE-2018-14939 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Libreoffice Libreoffice, published on 5 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The get_app_path function in desktop/unx/source/start.c in LibreOffice through 6.0.5 mishandles the realpath function in certain environments such as FreeBSD libc, which might allow attackers to cause a denial of service (buffer overflow and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact if LibreOffice is automatically launched during web browsing with pathnames controlled by a remote web site.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-14939?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Libreoffice Libreoffice.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-14939?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-14939 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-14939 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-14939 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Libreoffice Libreoffice

- [CVE-2024-5261](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5261/): TLS certificate are not properly verified when utilizing LibreOfficeKit (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2019-9855](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9855/): Windows 8.3 path equivalence handling flaw allows LibreLogo script execution (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-8358](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8358/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7882](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7882/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-10327](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10327/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-14939 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-14939 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Libreoffice Libreoffice, published on 5 Aug 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-2018-14939 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Libreoffice Libreoffice. 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-2018-14939/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14939/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-14939
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14939
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-14939

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14939/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.