CVE-2018-16888

MEDIUM

systemd <v237 - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm

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 v3 4.7
EPSS 0.0016
EPSS Percentile 36.5%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Classification

CWE
CWE-269 CWE-250
Status published

Affected Products (7)

systemd_project/systemd < 237
canonical/ubuntu_linux
canonical/ubuntu_linux
canonical/ubuntu_linux
redhat/enterprise_linux
netapp/active_iq_performance_analytics_services
netapp/element_software

Timeline

Published Jan 14, 2019
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026