libvterm up to 0+bzr726 screen.c null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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Current Exploit Price (≈)
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CTI Interest Score
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6.3$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in libvterm up to 0+bzr726. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the file screen.c. The manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2018-20786. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in libvterm up to 0+bzr726. It has been classified as problematic. Affected is some unknown functionality of the file screen.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. CVE summarizes:

libvterm through 0+bzr726, as used in Vim and other products, mishandles certain out-of-memory conditions, leading to a denial of service (application crash), related to screen.c, state.c, and vterm.c.

The bug was discovered 12/24/2018. The weakness was shared 02/24/2019 (Website). The advisory is available at usn.ubuntu.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2018-20786 since 02/24/2019. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 62 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 254383 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2018-20786), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (254383). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Name

Version

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.3

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 254383
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2018-20786

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Patch: github.com

Timelineinfo

12/24/2018 🔍
02/24/2019 +62 days 🔍
02/24/2019 +0 days 🔍
02/25/2019 +1 days 🔍
08/25/2025 +2373 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: cd929f7ba8cc5b6d6dcf35c8b34124e969fed6b8
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2018-20786 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2018-20786
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-131154

Entryinfo

Created: 02/25/2019 06:51
Updated: 08/25/2025 14:55
Changes: 02/25/2019 06:51 (53), 05/12/2020 15:07 (2), 07/19/2023 13:21 (4), 07/19/2023 13:27 (1), 08/25/2025 14:55 (23)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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