CVE-2018-11548
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in EOS.IO DAWN 4.2. plugins/net_plugin/net_plugin.cpp does not limit the number of P2P connections from the same source IP address.
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 · moderate confidenceThe net_plugin.cpp in EOS.IO DAWN 4.2 lacks per-source IP connection limits on P2P connections, allowing an attacker from a single IP to establish unlimited connections and exhaust server resources, create amplification conditions, or disrupt network operations.
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= dawn-4.2.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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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Identify EOS.IO software versionRun 'nodeos --version' or check the installed package version for eosio/Block.one software. For source builds, check the git tag or version file in the build directory.Affected if The installed version is dawn-4.2.0 or the software identifies as EOS.IO DAWN 4.2.0 exactly.
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Verify P2P networking is enabledCheck nodeos configuration file (config.ini) or running process for 'p2p-server-address' or 'p2p-listen-endpoint' settings. Look for any P2P endpoint configuration.Affected if P2P networking is enabled and the node is configured to accept P2P connections.
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Inspect P2P connection limit settingsIn config.ini, look for any p2p-connection-parameters such as 'p2p-max-connections', 'p2p-peer-limit', or similar connection rate limiting options.Affected if No per-source-IP connection limit is configured (the config either lacks these settings or allows unlimited connections per IP).
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Check active P2P connections from single sourcesUse netstat or ss commands: 'netstat -an | grep <p2p_port>' or query nodeos via cleos get info to see peer count. Analyze source IPs of connected peers.Affected if A single IP address has established multiple simultaneous P2P connections exceeding reasonable bounds (no enforced cap observed).
You are affected if running EOS.IO DAWN 4.2.0 with P2P networking enabled and no per-source-IP connection limits configured in the net_plugin.
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 dataImplement connection rate limiting and per-IP connection caps in the P2P networking layer to restrict the number of simultaneous connections from any single source address.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,568.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-11548 — 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-2018-11548 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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