# CVE-2018-25154: GNU Barcode 0.99 Buffer Overflow in Code 93 Encoding Mechanism

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code via a buffer overflow in GNU Barcode's Code 93 encoding when processing malicious input files.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 7 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-25154, GHSA-fv28-hc36-43g9, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-25154

## What is CVE-2018-25154?

CVE-2018-25154 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in The GNU Project | Free Software Foundation, Inc. GNU Barcode, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

GNU Barcode 0.99 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in its code 93 encoding process that allows attackers to trigger memory corruption. Attackers can exploit boundary errors during input file processing to potentially execute arbitrary code on the affected system.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-25154?


## How do I fix CVE-2018-25154?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-25154 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-25154 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-25154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-25154 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-25154 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in The GNU Project | Free Software Foundation, Inc. GNU Barcode, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-25154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: The GNU Project | Free Software Foundation, Inc. GNU Barcode. 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-2018-25154/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-25154/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-25154
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-25154
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-25154

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-25154/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.