CVE-2018-1000161
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditednmap version 6.49BETA6 through 7.60, up to and including SVN revision 37147 contains a Directory Traversal vulnerability in NSE script http-fetch that can result in file overwrite as the user is running it. This attack appears to be exploitable via a victim that runs NSE script http-fetch against a malicious web site. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 7.7.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability exists in nmap's NSE (Nmap Scripting Engine) http-fetch script versions 6.49BETA6 through 7.60 (up to SVN revision 37147). When a user runs the http-fetch script against a malicious website, the attacker can use path traversal sequences (e.g., ../) in the response to write files to arbitrary locations on the victim's filesystem, overwriting existing files with the privileges of the user running nmap.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 6.49= 7.00= 7.01= 7.10= 7.11= 7.12= 7.25= 7.30= 7.31= 7.40= 7.50= 7.60CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed nmap versionRun 'nmap --version' or 'nmap -V' to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if The version listed is 6.49BETA6, 7.00, 7.01, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12, 7.25, 7.30, 7.31, 7.40, 7.50, or 7.60 (or any version between 6.49BETA6 and 7.60)
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Locate http-fetch scriptFind the http-fetch.nse script in the nmap scripts directory, typically at $(nmap --script-path 2>/dev/null)/http-fetch.nse or in the nmap installation under scripts/ directoryAffected if The http-fetch script exists in the nmap installation and the nmap version is in the affected range
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Verify script is executableCheck if the http-fetch script has execute permissions with 'ls -la' on the script fileAffected if The script is present and executable, and nmap version is in the affected range
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Review nmap usage logs or historyCheck shell history, system logs, or any recorded nmap command executions for usage of 'nmap --script http-fetch' or 'nmap -sC' if http-fetch was loadedAffected if The http-fetch script was run against any website, especially untrusted or unknown ones, on an affected nmap version
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Check for suspicious newly created or modified filesReview filesystem for unexpected file creations or modifications, particularly in system directories or sensitive locations, that coincide with nmap http-fetch execution timesAffected if Files were created or overwritten outside the intended download directory after running http-fetch, indicating exploitation
You are affected if you run nmap version 6.49BETA6 through 7.60 and have executed the http-fetch script against a website, as the directory traversal flaw allows arbitrary file writes.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade nmap to version 7.7 or later. Until then, avoid running the http-fetch NSE script against untrusted or unknown websites, and run nmap with minimal necessary privileges to limit the impact of file overwrite attacks.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1000161 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1000161 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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