# CVE-2018-19183: Denial of Service in ethereumjs-vm

> Attackers can cause denial of service in ethereumjs-vm via specific code attributes, though the vendor disputes this as normal behavior.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 12 Nov 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2mw7-wggm-m6w3

## What is CVE-2018-19183?

CVE-2018-19183 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Nov 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ethereumjs-vm 2.4.0 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (vm.runCode failure and REVERT) via a "code: Buffer.from(my_code, 'hex')" attribute. NOTE: the vendor disputes this because REVERT is a normal bytecode that can be triggered from high-level source code, leading to a normal programmatic execution result.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-19183?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including ethereumjs-vm. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ethereumjs-vm` | npm | All versions to 2.4.0 | None |
| `ethereumjs-vm` | npm | All versions to 2.4.0 | None |

Products: Ethereumjs-Vm Project Ethereumjs-Vm.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-19183?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-19183 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-19183 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-19183 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-19183 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-19183 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Nov 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-2018-19183 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- ethereumjs-vm (npm): affected all versions up to 2.4.0; no fix listed
- ethereumjs-vm (npm): affected all versions up to 2.4.0; no fix listed

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-2018-19183/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-19183/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-19183
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-19183
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-19183

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-19183/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.