# CVE-2018-5205: Memory corruption in n/a

> An attacker can cause memory corruption in Irssi via incomplete escape codes, potentially leading to crashes or arbitrary code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Jan 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2018-5205, DEBIAN-CVE-2018-5205, GHSA-h32h-429h-jx9q, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-5205

## What is CVE-2018-5205?

CVE-2018-5205 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Jan 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When using incomplete escape codes, Irssi before 1.0.6 may access data beyond the end of the string.

Weakness: CWE-134 (Use of Externally-Controlled Format String)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-5205?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Irssi Irssi.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-5205?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-5205 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-5205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-5205 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-5205 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 6 Jan 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-2018-5205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2018-5205/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5205/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-5205
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5205
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-5205

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5205/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.