CVE-2018-16231
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 · uneditedMichael Roth Software Personal FTP Server (PFTP) through 8.4f allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via an unspecified sequence of FTP commands.
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 · low confidencePersonal FTP Server (PFTP) versions up to 8.4f contains a denial of service vulnerability where remote attackers can crash the FTP daemon via a specific (unspecified) sequence of FTP commands. The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 7.5 (HIGH), indicating network-exploitable code execution leading to service disruption.
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<= 8.4fCVSS 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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Confirm Personal FTP Server installationCheck if Personal FTP Server (pftp.exe or similar) is installed on the system by searching program directories, installed programs list, or running processes.Affected if Personal FTP Server is found installed on the system
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Identify installed PFTP versionLocate the pftp.exe file and check its version properties, or run 'pftp.exe -v' if supported, or check the software's About/Help section for version information.Affected if The installed version is 8.4f or any version number lower than 8.4f (e.g., 8.4e, 8.4, 8.3, etc.)
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Verify PFTP service is runningCheck running services or processes for an active FTP server process (often named 'pftp' or 'Personal FTP Server') using Task Manager, Services console, or command-line tools like 'tasklist' or 'sc query'.Affected if The PFTP service is actively running on the system
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Check network listening statusUse 'netstat -an' or similar network tools to determine if PFTP is listening on FTP ports (typically port 21).Affected if PFTP is bound to a network interface and listening for incoming connections
If Personal FTP Server version 8.4f or lower is installed and running as a network service, the environment is affected by this CVE and vulnerable to remote denial of service attacks.
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 Personal FTP Server to a version beyond 8.4f that addresses this vulnerability, or if no patched version exists, consider replacing the software with a maintained FTP server solution. Network segmentation may limit exposure to untrusted remote users.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16231 — 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-2018-16231 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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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