Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-16948
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 OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. Several RPC server routines did not fully initialize their output variables before returning, leaking memory contents from both the stack and the heap. Because the OpenAFS cache manager functions as an Rx server for the AFSCB service, clients are also susceptible to information leakage. For example, RXAFSCB_TellMeAboutYourself leaks kernel memory and KAM_ListEntry leaks kaserver memory.
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 confidenceSeveral RPC server routines in OpenAFS fail to fully initialize output variables before returning, causing memory contents from both stack and heap to leak to clients. Since the OpenAFS cache manager functions as an Rx server for the AFSCB service, clients are susceptible to information disclosure via routines such as RXAFSCB_TellMeAboutYourself (kernel memory leak) and KAM_ListEntry (kaserver memory leak).
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= 9.0< 1.6.23>= 1.8.0, < 1.8.2CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
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Check if OpenAFS is installedRun 'dpkg -l | grep openafs' on Debian or 'rpm -qa | grep openafs' on RHEL-based systemsAffected if OpenAFS package is present on the system
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Determine the installed OpenAFS versionRun 'dpkg -l openafs-client' or 'dpkg -l openafs-server' to see the exact version number, or use 'vos.exe version' if the command-line tools are availableAffected if Version is less than 1.6.23, OR version is 1.8.0 or 1.8.1 (falls in range >= 1.8.0, < 1.8.2)
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Verify the AFSCB service is enabledCheck if the OpenAFS cache manager is running as an Rx server. Run 'rxstat -version' or inspect running processes for 'afsd' daemon. The AFSCB service exposes the RXAFSCB_TellMeAboutYourself routine.Affected if The cache manager (afsd) process is running and accepting Rx connections from clients
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Check if kaserver is enabledInspect the OpenAFS configuration in /etc/openafs/ or /usr/vice/etc/ for kaserver presence, or check if the kaserver process is running. This relates to the KAM_ListEntry memory leak.Affected if The kaserver (or KAServer) is enabled and running on the system
The system is affected if OpenAFS is installed with a version less than 1.6.23 or between 1.8.0 and 1.8.1 inclusive, AND either the AFSCB service (cache manager) or kaserver is enabled and accessible to clients.
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 data1.6.231.8.2
Upgrade to OpenAFS version 1.6.23 or 1.8.2 or later to resolve the uninitialized variable issues in affected RPC server routines.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $3,520.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16948 — 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-2018-16948 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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