dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux AusOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-14638

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.3.8.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A flaw was found in 389-ds-base before version 1.3.8.4-13. The process ns-slapd crashes in delete_passwdPolicy function when persistent search connections are terminated unexpectedly leading to remote denial of service.

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 confidence

A denial of service vulnerability exists in 389-ds-base before version 1.3.8.4-13 where the ns-slapd process crashes in the delete_passwdPolicy function when persistent search connections are terminated unexpectedly. This allows remote attackers to cause a crash and deny service.

MitigationUpgrade 389-ds-base to version 1.3.8.4-13 or later to receive the patch that prevents the crash in delete_passwdPolicy when persistent search connections terminate unexpectedly.

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
Enterprise Linux AusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
Affected:= 7.5= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server TusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
389 Directory ServerApplication
Affected:< 1.3.8.4

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if 389-ds-base is installed
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep 389-ds-base' or 'dnf list installed 389-ds-base' to see if the package is present on the system
    Affected if The package is not installed, the system is not running this software
  2. Identify the installed version of 389-ds-base
    Run 'rpm -q 389-ds-base' or 'rpm -qi 389-ds-base' to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if The version is lower than 1.3.8.4-13 (for RHEL) or lower than 1.3.8.4 (for Fedora)
  3. Confirm persistent search is enabled
    Check the directory server configuration for persistent search by running 'ldapsearch -x -b "cn=config" -D "cn=Directory Manager" (password) "(objectClass=nsContainer)" nsbasedn' or inspect dse.ldif for 'nsslapd-allow-anonymous-access' and persistent search settings in the monitoring configuration
    Affected if Persistent search connections are configured and in use, enabling the crash condition when these connections terminate unexpectedly
  4. Check for crash logs or core dumps
    Review /var/log/dirsrv/slapd-*/errors or /var/log/messages for recent ns-slapd process crashes around the time of connection termination events
    Affected if Recent crashes in ns-slapd process are logged, particularly referencing delete_passwdPolicy or signal 11 (segfault)
  5. Verify the ns-slapd process is running
    Run 'ps -ef | grep ns-slapd' to confirm the directory server process is active
    Affected if The server is running and vulnerable to this denial of service condition

A system is affected if it runs 389-ds-base with a version lower than 1.3.8.4-13 (RHEL) or 1.3.8.4 (Fedora) and has persistent search connections enabled, making it susceptible to crashes when those connections terminate unexpectedly.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.3.8.4 or later
Fixed in 1.3.8.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade 389-ds-base to version 1.3.8.4-13 or later to receive the patch that prevents the crash in delete_passwdPolicy when persistent search connections terminate unexpectedly.

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Aus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-14638 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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