Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-16949
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 data types used as RPC input variables were implemented as unbounded array types, limited only by the inherent 32-bit length field to 4 GB. An unauthenticated attacker could send, or claim to send, large input values and consume server resources waiting for those inputs, denying service to other valid connections.
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 confidenceOpenAFS servers before versions 1.6.23 and 1.8.2 have unbounded array types in RPC input variables limited only by a 32-bit length field (up to 4GB). Unauthenticated attackers can send oversized RPC requests to consume excessive server resources (CPU, memory, network bandwidth) while the server waits for complete input, causing denial of service to legitimate users.
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
- 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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Check if OpenAFS server package is installedQuery the package manager for installed OpenAFS server packages. On Debian-based systems: dpkg -l | grep -i openafs. On RHEL-based systems: rpm -qa | grep -i openafs.Affected if An OpenAFS server package is found on the system
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Determine installed OpenAFS versionQuery the exact version of the installed OpenAFS server package. On Debian: dpkg -l <package-name>. On RHEL: rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE} ' <package-name>.Affected if Version is lower than 1.6.23, or greater than or equal to 1.8.0 but lower than 1.8.2
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Verify OpenAFS server processes are runningCheck for running OpenAFS server processes. Use ps aux | grep -i afs or check systemctl status for OpenAFS services.Affected if OpenAFS server daemon processes are actively running
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Check network exposure of OpenAFS RPC portsInspect listening network ports associated with OpenAFS. Standard ports include 7000-7007. Use netstat -tulpn or ss -tulpn and filter for these ports.Affected if OpenAFS RPC ports are listening and accessible from network interfaces, allowing unauthenticated remote requests
The environment is affected if OpenAFS server is installed with a version below 1.6.23 or between 1.8.0 and 1.8.2, the server daemon is running, and RPC ports are exposed to the network.
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 OpenAFS servers to version 1.6.23, 1.8.2 or later. Alternatively, implement network-level rate limiting and connection throttling at firewalls to restrict oversized RPC requests.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16949 — 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-2018-16949 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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