CVE-2018-25220
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 · uneditedBochs 2.6-5 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying an oversized input string to the application. Attackers can craft a malicious payload with 1200 bytes of padding followed by a return-oriented programming chain to overwrite the instruction pointer and execute shell commands with application privileges.
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 confidenceBochs 2.6-5 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability triggered by an oversized input string. The exploit requires approximately 1200 bytes of padding followed by a return-oriented programming (ROP) chain to overwrite the instruction pointer, enabling arbitrary code execution with application privileges.
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= 2.6.5CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
-
Identify if Bochs is installedSearch for the Bochs binary or package on the system using commands like 'which bochs', 'find /usr -name "bochs*"', or check system package manager listingsAffected if Bochs executable or package is found on the system
-
Determine the installed Bochs versionRun 'bochs --version' or 'bochs -v' to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if The version reported is 2.6.5 exactly (not a newer or older patch version)
-
Verify the specific vulnerable versionCompare the installed version string against the affected version range (2.6.5)Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.6.5 - note that only this specific version is listed as affected, not a range
You are affected only if Bochs is installed and the installed version is exactly 2.6.5; other versions of Bochs are not vulnerable to this specific CVE.
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 dataUpdate to a patched version of Bochs if available; otherwise, implement strict input length validation and bounds checking on all user-controlled input paths to prevent the overflow.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing10.0 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 $7,776.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-25220 — 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-2018-25220 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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