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CVE-2018-14647

7.5 · HIGH

Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization.

Published Sep 25, 2018CWE-335EPSS 10.91%

Overview

CVE-2018-14647 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on September 25, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization. This could make it easy to conduct denial of service attacks against Expat by constructing an XML document that would cause pathological hash collisions in Expat's internal data structures, consuming large amounts CPU and RAM. The vulnerability exists in Python versions 3.7.0, 3.6.0 through 3.6.6, 3.5.0 through 3.5.6, 3.4.0 through 3.4.9, 2.7.0 through 2.7.15.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-14647?

CVE-2018-14647 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on September 25, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2018-14647?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, rated HIGH. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2018-14647?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2018-14647?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2018-14647 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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