# CVE-2018-15471: Integer overflow in n/a

> A missing integer overflow check in the Linux kernel netback driver allows malicious frontends to trigger out-of-bounds memory access, leading to privilege escalation, DoS, or information leaks.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-15471, GHSA-qv83-77rj-635j, SUSE-SU-2018:2677-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-15471

## What is CVE-2018-15471?

CVE-2018-15471 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 17 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in xenvif_set_hash_mapping in drivers/net/xen-netback/hash.c in the Linux kernel through 4.18.1, as used in Xen through 4.11.x and other products. The Linux netback driver allows frontends to control mapping of requests to request queues. When processing a request to set or change this mapping, some input validation (e.g., for an integer overflow) was missing or flawed, leading to OOB access in hash handling. A malicious or buggy frontend may cause the (usually privileged) backend to make out of bounds memory accesses, potentially resulting in one or more of privilege escalation, Denial of Service (DoS), or information leaks.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-15471?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kernel-livepatch-SLE15_Update_0` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 | All versions | 3-7.3 |
| `kernel-livepatch-SLE15_Update_1` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 | All versions | 3-2.1 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Linux kernel, Xen Xen.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-15471?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-15471 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15471 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-2018-15471 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-15471 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 17 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15471 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-2018-15471/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15471/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-15471
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15471
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-15471

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15471/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.