# CVE-2018-16466: Missing authorization in Nextcloud Server

> Attackers can bypass access restrictions via access tokens due to improper permission revalidation in Nextcloud Server.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Oct 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6mm6-pp6h-9p36

## What is CVE-2018-16466?

CVE-2018-16466 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Nextcloud Nextcloud Server, published on 30 Oct 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper revalidation of permissions in Nextcloud Server prior to 14.0.0, 13.0.6 and 12.0.11 lead to not accepting access restrictions by acess tokens.

Weakness: CWE-273 (Improper Check for Dropped Privileges), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16466?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nextcloud Nextcloud Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16466?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-16466 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-16466 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16466 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nextcloud Nextcloud Server

- [CVE-2021-32802](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32802/): Preview generation used third-party library not suited for user-generated content in Nextcloud server (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2023-26482](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-26482/): Scope of workflow operations is not validated in nextcloud server (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2018-3775](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3775/): Auth bypass in Nextcloud Server (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-35172](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35172/): Nextcloud Server password reset endpoint is not brute force protected (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2023-32320](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32320/): Nextcloud Server's brute force protection allows someone to send more requests than intended (high 8.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16466 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16466 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Nextcloud Nextcloud Server, published on 30 Oct 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16466 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nextcloud Nextcloud Server. 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-2018-16466/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16466/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16466
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16466
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16466

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16466/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.