HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2018-5709
HIGH

CVE-2018-5709

CWE-190Published: January 16, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.5
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.16. There is a variable "dbentry->n_key_data" in kadmin/dbutil/dump.c that can store 16-bit data but unknowingly the developer has assigned a "u4" variable to it, which is for 32-bit data. An attacker can use this vulnerability to affect other artifacts of the database as we know that a Kerberos database dump file contains trusted data.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2018-5709 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 full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 7.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Affected Vendors & Products

mit1 product(s)
kerberos
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://github.com/poojamnit/Kerberos-V5-1.16-Vulnerabilities/tree/master/Integer%20Overflow
ADVISORYhttps://github.com/poojamnit/Kerberos-V5-1.16-Vulnerabilities/tree/master/Integer%20Overflow

All References (4)

→
https://github.com/poojamnit/Kerberos-V5-1.16-Vulnerabilities/tree/master/Integer%20OverflowThird Party Advisory
→
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf9fa47ab66495c78bb4120b0754dd9531ca2ff0430f6685ac9b07772%40%3Cdev.mina.apache.org%3E
→
https://github.com/poojamnit/Kerberos-V5-1.16-Vulnerabilities/tree/master/Integer%20OverflowThird Party Advisory
→
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf9fa47ab66495c78bb4120b0754dd9531ca2ff0430f6685ac9b07772%40%3Cdev.mina.apache.org%3E

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2018-5709
CVSS Score7.5 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-190
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJan 16, 2018

Related CVEs (CWE-190)

CVE-2013-2555
10.0
CVE-2008-2663
10.0
CVE-2010-3254
10.0
CVE-2012-5143
10.0
CVE-2015-5108
10.0
CVE-2010-1233
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2018-5709 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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