# CVE-2018-20483: Information disclosure in n/a

> Local attackers can read sensitive credentials from downloaded file metadata attributes, exposing origin URLs and referrer information.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/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:** 26 Dec 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2018-20483, CLEANSTART-2026-RQ35898, DEBIAN-CVE-2018-20483, GHSA-mxm6-6r3r-6wj4, MGASA-2019-0015, SUSE-SU-2019:0093-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-20483, openSUSE-SU-2019:0057-1

## What is CVE-2018-20483?

CVE-2018-20483 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Dec 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

set_file_metadata in xattr.c in GNU Wget before 1.20.1 stores a file's origin URL in the user.xdg.origin.url metadata attribute of the extended attributes of the downloaded file, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information (e.g., credentials contained in the URL) by reading this attribute, as demonstrated by getfattr. This also applies to Referer information in the user.xdg.referrer.url metadata attribute. According to 2016-07-22 in the Wget ChangeLog, user.xdg.origin.url was partially based on the behavior of fwrite_xattr in tool_xattr.c in curl.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-20483?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `wget` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 | All versions | 1.19.5-3.3.1 |
| `wget` | openSUSE:Leap 15.0 | All versions | 1.19.5-lp150.2.3.1 |

Products: Gnu Wget.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-20483?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-20483 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-20483 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-5953](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5953/): Memory corruption in GNU Wget (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-4877](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4877/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-38428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38428/): Other in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-58469](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-58469/): GNU Wget 1.25.0 Heap Buffer Underread via Metalink URL Parsing (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2016-7098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7098/): Race condition in n/a (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-20483 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-20483 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 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-2018-20483 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2018-20483/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20483/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20483
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20483
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-20483

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20483/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.