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HIGH

CVE-2018-16864

CVSS v3

7.8

HIGH

EPSS Score

0.7 %

exploit probability, as of 2026-10-19

CISA KEV

No

known exploited

Exploitation

—

SSVC status

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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-2018-16864 Red Hat Product Security435 products fixed

    systemd: stack overflow when calling syslog from a command with long cmdline

  • RHSA-2019:2402 Red Hat Product Security72 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: systemd security update

  • RHSA-2019:0361 Red Hat Product Security4 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: rhvm-appliance security update

  • RHSA-2019:0342 Red Hat Product Security5 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: redhat-virtualization-host security update

  • RHSA-2019:0271 Red Hat Product Security90 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: systemd security update

  • RHSA-2019:0204 Red Hat Product Security90 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: systemd security update

1 more advisory

Full record on NVD

Description

An allocation of memory without limits, that could result in the stack clashing with another memory region, was discovered in systemd-journald when a program with long command line arguments calls syslog. A local attacker may use this flaw to crash systemd-journald or escalate his privileges. Versions through v240 are vulnerable.

Technical details

Published
2019-01-11

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16864?

An allocation of memory without limits, that could result in the stack clashing with another memory region, was discovered in systemd-journald when a program with long command line arguments calls syslog. A local attacker may use this flaw to crash systemd-journald or escalate his privileges. Versions through v240 are vulnerable.

Is CVE-2018-16864 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2018-16864 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 0.7% on 2026-10-19, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-16864?

CVE-2018-16864 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (HIGH severity).

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