# CVE-2018-4220: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code in a privileged context due to insecure library loading permissions in Swift for Ubuntu.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x9v7-5j9h-jp2f

## What is CVE-2018-4220?

CVE-2018-4220 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. Swift before 4.1.1 Security Update 2018-001 is affected. The issue involves the "Swift for Ubuntu" component. It allows attackers to execute arbitrary code in a privileged context because write and execute permissions are enabled during library loading.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-4220?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apple Swift.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-4220?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-4220 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-4220 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4220 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2022-1642](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-1642/): Swift-corelibs-foundation denial of service in JSON decoding with JSONDecoder (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2020-9861](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9861/): Denial of service in Swift 5.1.5 for Linux (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2019-8790](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-8790/): Information disclosure in Swift for Ubuntu (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-4220 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-4220 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4220 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-2018-4220/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4220/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4220
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4220
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-4220

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4220/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.