Skip to main content
CRITICAL

CVE-2018-16402

CVSS v3

9.8

CRITICAL

EPSS Score

3.7 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-10-19

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

Get an alert for each new CVE published for elfutils.

Set up CVE WatchFree account · no credit card

Affected and fixed versions

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2018-16402 Red Hat Product Security773 products fixed · 3 known affected

    elfutils: Double-free due to double decompression of sections in crafted ELF causes crash

    elfutils-debuginfod-client as a component of Red Hat Virtualization 4 · elfutils-devel as a component of Red Hat Virtualization 4 · elfutils.src as a component of Red Hat Virtualization 4

  • RHSA-2020:1471 Red Hat Product Security109 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: elfutils security update

  • RHBA-2020:0547 Red Hat Product Security3 products fixed

    Red Hat Bug Fix Advisory: Container Image Rebuild for Ansible Tower 3.4 Dependency

  • RHSA-2019:2197 Red Hat Product Security119 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: elfutils security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Full record on NVD

Description

libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact because it tries to decompress twice.

Technical details

Published
2018-09-03

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16402?

libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact because it tries to decompress twice.

Is CVE-2018-16402 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2018-16402 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 3.7% on 2026-10-19, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-16402?

CVE-2018-16402 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity).

Running elfutils? Hear about its next vulnerability

CVE Watch matches each new CVE to the vendors and products you list (vendor and product, not the version) and puts it in your alerts with its KEV and EPSS status.

Already have an account? Open CVE WatchNo credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month