CVE-2018-13796
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 GNU Mailman before 2.1.28. A crafted URL can cause arbitrary text to be displayed on a web page from a trusted site.
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 confidenceGNU Mailman versions before 2.1.28 contain a web-based vulnerability where a specially crafted URL can inject arbitrary text into web pages served by the application. This appears to be a form of cross-site scripting (XSS) or content injection where the application fails to properly sanitize URL parameters before rendering them in the web interface.
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< 2.1.28CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.
-
Identify installed Mailman versionRun 'mailman --version' or check the version file typically located at /var/lib/mailman/version, or view the version displayed in the footer of any Mailman web pageAffected if The installed version is any version before 2.1.28 (e.g., 2.1.27, 2.1.26, earlier releases)
-
Confirm web interface is accessibleVerify that the Mailman web interface (typically on port 8001 or 80/443 via web server) is enabled and reachable. Check configuration files in /etc/mailman/ for 'web_page_url' and ensure the CGI/web adapter is runningAffected if The web interface is exposed and accessible to users or attackers
-
Review URL handling behaviorExamine how the application handles URL parameters by testing common query parameters on web pages (such as list name or admin paths) for unsanitized reflection back into the page HTML sourceAffected if URL parameters are reflected in web page output without proper HTML encoding or sanitization
You are affected if your installed GNU Mailman version is before 2.1.28 AND the web interface is enabled and accessible, allowing unsanitized URL parameters to be injected into rendered pages.
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 data2.1.28
Upgrade GNU Mailman to version 2.1.28 or later to resolve the vulnerability. If immediate upgrading is not possible, consider restricting access to the web interface or implementing web application firewall rules to filter malicious URL patterns.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-13796 — 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-2018-13796 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data