HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2018-16837

HIGH

CVE-2018-16837

CWE-214Published: October 23, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

Ansible "User" module leaks any data which is passed on as a parameter to ssh-keygen. This could lean in undesirable situations such as passphrases credentials passed as a parameter for the ssh-keygen executable. Showing those credentials in clear text form for every user which have access just to the process list.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2018-16837 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation does not require any privileges, though user interaction (Required) is needed, which slightly reduces the risk of mass automated attacks.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionRequired

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Debian1 product(s)

debian linux

Red Hat2 product(s)

ansible engineansible tower

SUSE2 product(s)

package hublinux enterprise

Source: NVD CPE · 9 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

Security advisories & exploits

Official NIST entry

CVE Program entry

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00021.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105700

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3460

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3461

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3462

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3463

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3505

ADVISORYhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16837

ADVISORYhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00012.html

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4396

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2018-16837

ADVISORYhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00021.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105700

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3460

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3461

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3462

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3463

ADVISORYhttps://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3505

ADVISORYhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16837

ADVISORYhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00012.html

ADVISORYhttps://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4396

All References (27)

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00021.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-06/msg00077.html

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-08/msg00020.html

→

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105700Third Party Advisory · VDB Entry

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3460Vendor Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3461Vendor Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3462Vendor Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3463Vendor Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3505Vendor Advisory

→

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16837Issue Tracking · Vendor Advisory

→

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00012.htmlMailing List · Third Party Advisory

→

https://usn.ubuntu.com/4072-1/

→

https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4396Third Party Advisory

→

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2018-16837Vendor Advisory

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00021.htmlThird Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2018-16837

CVSS Score7.8 / 10

SeverityHIGH

WeaknessCWE-214

CISA KEVNo

Affected3 vendor(s)

PublishedOct 23, 2018

Related CVEs (CWE-214)

Recommended Actions

→Apply vendor patches immediately
→Monitor CVE-2018-16837 in threat intel feeds
→Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts

Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.

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