Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-14648
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in 389 Directory Server. A specially crafted search query could lead to excessive CPU consumption in the do_search() function. An unauthenticated attacker could use this flaw to provoke a 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 confidenceA vulnerability in 389 Directory Server's do_search() function allows unauthenticated attackers to cause excessive CPU consumption via specially crafted search queries, leading to denial of service. The flaw enables resource exhaustion without requiring authentication.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
= 7.0< 1.4.0.17CVSS 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 if 389 Directory Server is installedCheck for running ns-slapd process or query the package manager (e.g., rpm -qa | grep 389-ds-base or dpkg -l | grep 389-ds)Affected if The package or process is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of 389 Directory ServerRun 'rpm -q 389-ds-base' or check the version file in /etc/dirsrv/slapd-<instance>/, then compare the version number to the affected range (Debian 8.0, RHEL 7.0, or version < 1.4.0.17)Affected if The installed version falls within the affected versions (Debian 8.0, RHEL 7.0, or any version earlier than 1.4.0.17)
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Verify if the LDAP service is exposed to unauthenticated network accessCheck the LDAP listener configuration in /etc/dirsrv/slapd-<instance>/dse.ldif or run 'netstat -tlnp | grep 389' to see if port 389 is listening on external interfacesAffected if The LDAP service (port 389) is bound to a network interface accessible to untrusted users without authentication required
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Check for query complexity or rate limiting controlsInspect /etc/dirsrv/slapd-<instance>/dse.ldif for nsslapd-maxbersize, olcDbMaxbersize, or similar settings, and check for any LDAP proxy or rate-limiting configuration in front of the directory serverAffected if No query complexity limits or rate limiting is configured on the LDAP service
The system is affected if 389 Directory Server version < 1.4.0.17 (or on Debian 8.0 / RHEL 7.0) is installed and the LDAP service is accessible to unauthenticated network attackers without any query limits in place.
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 data1.4.0.17
Apply the vendor patch for CVE-2018-14648 to the 389 Directory Server. Consider implementing query complexity limits or rate limiting on LDAP search operations as a defense-in-depth measure.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14648 — 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-2018-14648 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
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