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CVE-2018-16888

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run…

Medium4.4EPSS 0.29%
Published
Updated
Reserved
Assigned by
redhat

Description

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Scores

CVSS scores of CVE-2018-16888, by who scored it
Scored byCVSSScoreVector
redhatCNA (assigner)3.0Medium4.4CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVDNVD · Modified3.1Medium4.7CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
0.29% · top 78% of all CVEs (4 Nov 2026)
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The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 4.4.

Weakness

Affected products

References (5)

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

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Record last updated .