Is CVE-2018-16988 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2018-16988 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2018-16988 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2018-16988 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16988?

CVE-2018-16988 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2018-16988

CRITICAL

CVE-2018-16988

CWE-640Published: May 2, 2019· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in Open XDMoD through 7.5.0. An authentication bypass (account takeover) exists due to a weak password reset mechanism. A brute-force attack against an MD5 rid value requires only 600 guesses in the plausible situation where the attacker knows that the victim has started a password-reset process (pass_reset.php, password_reset.php, XDUser.php) in the past few minutes.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2018-16988 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

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 9.8.