# CVE-2018-16889: Information disclosure in ceph

> Attackers can read encryption keys from Ceph debug logs due to improper sanitization, compromising stored data security.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 28 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-16889, GHSA-2xfm-mgc4-j8fx, SUSE-SU-2019:2364-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-16889

## What is CVE-2018-16889?

CVE-2018-16889 is a medium-severity vulnerability in The Ceph Project ceph, published on 28 Jan 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Ceph does not properly sanitize encryption keys in debug logging for v4 auth. This results in the leaking of encryption key information in log files via plaintext. Versions up to v13.2.4 are vulnerable.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor), CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), CWE-532 (Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16889?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ceph` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 5 | All versions | 12.2.12+git.1568024032.02236657ca-2.39.1 |
| `ceph` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | All versions | 12.2.12+git.1568024032.02236657ca-2.39.1 |
| `ceph` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | All versions | 12.2.12+git.1568024032.02236657ca-2.39.1 |
| `ceph` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 12.2.12+git.1568024032.02236657ca-2.39.1 |
| `ceph` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP4 | All versions | 12.2.12+git.1568024032.02236657ca-2.39.1 |

Products: Redhat Ceph.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16889?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-16889 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16889 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in The Ceph Project ceph

- [CVE-2022-3650](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3650/): Privilege escalation in Ceph (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-47866](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-47866/): RGW DoS attack with empty HTTP header in S3 object copy (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2016-8626](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8626/): Denial of service in Ceph (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2016-5009](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5009/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2020-27839](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27839/): Information disclosure in ceph-dashboard (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16889 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16889 is a medium-severity vulnerability in The Ceph Project ceph, published on 28 Jan 2019. 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-2018-16889 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: The Ceph Project ceph. 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-2018-16889/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16889/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16889
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16889
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16889

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16889/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.