Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2018-6519
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 · uneditedThe SAML2 library before 1.10.4, 2.x before 2.3.5, and 3.x before 3.1.1 in SimpleSAMLphp has a Regular Expression Denial of Service vulnerability for fraction-of-seconds data in a timestamp.
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 confidenceThe SimpleSAMLphp SAML2 library contains a vulnerable regular expression used to parse fraction-of-seconds data in timestamps. An attacker can send specially crafted timestamps containing malicious fractional second patterns that cause excessive regex backtracking, leading to denial of service.
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>= 1.0.0, < 1.10.4>= 2.0.0, < 2.3.5>= 3.0.0, < 3.1.1CVSS 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.
-
Locate SimpleSAMLphp installation and versionCheck for SimpleSAMLphp by looking for its composer.json file, version.php, or the vendor/simplesamlphp directory. Common paths include /var/simplesamlphp, /usr/share/simplesamlphp, or within your project's vendor/ folder. Look for a version file or entry in composer.json.Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.10.4 for the 1.x branch, lower than 2.3.5 for the 2.x branch, or lower than 3.1.1 for the 3.x branch
-
Identify the SAML2 library componentLocate the SAML2 library within the SimpleSAMLphp installation. The vulnerable code is in the timestamp parsing functionality. Look for files handling SAML timestamp parsing, typically in lib/SAML2 or similar paths under the simplesamlphp core libraries.Affected if The SAML2 timestamp parsing code is present and actively processing SAML assertions
-
Verify timestamp processing is activeCheck if your SimpleSAMLphp deployment is processing SAML assertions that contain timestamp fields. The vulnerability triggers when parsing timestamps with fractional second components (such as 2023-01-01T12:00:00.123Z). Review your SAML configuration and logs for incoming assertion processing.Affected if Your IdP or SP is receiving and parsing SAML assertions with timestamp attributes containing fractional seconds
You are affected if SimpleSAMLphp with SAML2 library version is below 1.10.4, 2.3.5, or 3.1.1 and your deployment processes SAML assertions containing timestamps with fractional seconds.
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 data1.10.42.3.53.1.1
Upgrade the SimpleSAMLphp SAML2 library to version 1.10.4, 2.3.5, 3.1.1 or later, which contain the patched regular expression for timestamp parsing.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6519 — 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-2018-6519 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