# CVE-2018-16867: Path traversal in QEMU:

> A path traversal flaw in QEMU's MTP implementation allows guest users to read or write arbitrary host files, potentially causing denial of service or code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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:** 12 Dec 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-16867, GHSA-6ch3-xhrw-w89m

## What is CVE-2018-16867?

CVE-2018-16867 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 12 Dec 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in qemu Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) before version 3.1.0. A path traversal in the in usb_mtp_write_data function in hw/usb/dev-mtp.c due to an improper filename sanitization. When the guest device is mounted in read-write mode, this allows to read/write arbitrary files which may lead do DoS scenario OR possibly lead to code execution on the host.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16867?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Qemu Qemu.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16867?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-16867 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16867 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-2018-16867 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16867 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 12 Dec 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-2018-16867 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-2018-16867/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16867/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16867
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16867
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16867

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16867/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.