{"id":"CVE-2018-14665","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2018-14665","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T22:43:48.839Z","title":"X server allows unprivileged users with the ability to log in to the system via physical console to escalate their privileges and run arbitrary code under root privileges.","description":"A flaw was found in xorg-x11-server before 1.20.3. An incorrect permission check for -modulepath and -logfile options when starting Xorg. X server allows unprivileged users with the ability to log in to the system via physical console to escalate their privileges and run arbitrary code under root privileges.","published":"2018-10-25T20:29:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T01:41:25.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"secalert@redhat.com","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":6.6,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-863"],"affected":["x.org/x server","redhat/enterprise linux desktop","redhat/enterprise linux server","redhat/enterprise linux server aus","redhat/enterprise linux server eus","redhat/enterprise linux server tus","redhat/enterprise linux workstation","canonical/ubuntu linux","debian/debian linux"],"epss":{"score":0.27241,"percentile":0.98046,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[{"date":"2026-09-21","score":0.536,"percentile":0.98971},{"date":"2026-09-22","score":0.2704,"percentile":0.97952}]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":8,"verified":true,"firstPublished":"2018-10-25","source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[{"edbId":47701,"kind":"exploit","title":"Xorg X11 Server - Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit)","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/47701","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/unix/local/47701.rb","file":"exploits/unix/local/47701.rb","published":"2019-11-20","added":"2019-11-20","updated":"2019-11-20","author":"Metasploit","type":"local","platform":"unix","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/aix/local/xorg_x11_server.rb"},{"edbId":46142,"kind":"exploit","title":"xorg-x11-server < 1.20.3 (Solaris 11) - 'inittab Local Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46142","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/solaris/local/46142.sh","file":"exploits/solaris/local/46142.sh","published":"2019-01-14","added":"2019-01-14","updated":"2019-05-20","author":"Marco Ivaldi","type":"local","platform":"solaris","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":45938,"kind":"exploit","title":"Xorg X11 Server (AIX) - Local Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45938","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/aix/local/45938.pl","file":"exploits/aix/local/45938.pl","published":"2018-12-04","added":"2018-12-04","updated":"2018-12-11","author":"0xdono","type":"local","platform":"aix","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":45922,"kind":"exploit","title":"xorg-x11-server < 1.20.3 - 'modulepath' Local Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45922","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/multiple/local/45922.sh","file":"exploits/multiple/local/45922.sh","published":"2018-11-30","added":"2018-11-30","updated":"2020-02-12","author":"Marco Ivaldi","type":"local","platform":"multiple","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":45908,"kind":"exploit","title":"Xorg X11 Server - SUID privilege escalation (Metasploit)","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45908","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/multiple/local/45908.rb","file":"exploits/multiple/local/45908.rb","published":"2018-11-26","added":"2018-11-26","updated":"2018-11-26","author":"Metasploit","type":"local","platform":"multiple","port":null,"verified":true,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/be6cfde92158d2c6716711046536c9f1ca44d958/modules/exploits/multi/local/xorg_x11_suid_server.rb"},{"edbId":45832,"kind":"exploit","title":"xorg-x11-server < 1.20.1 - Local Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45832","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/linux/local/45832.py","file":"exploits/linux/local/45832.py","published":"2018-11-13","added":"2018-11-13","updated":"2018-11-13","author":"bolonobolo","type":"local","platform":"linux","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":45742,"kind":"exploit","title":"xorg-x11-server 1.20.3 - Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45742","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/openbsd/local/45742.sh","file":"exploits/openbsd/local/45742.sh","published":"2018-10-30","added":"2018-10-30","updated":"2018-10-30","author":"Marco Ivaldi","type":"local","platform":"openbsd","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":"Local","aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null},{"edbId":45697,"kind":"exploit","title":"xorg-x11-server < 1.20.3 - Local Privilege Escalation","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45697","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/multiple/local/45697.txt","file":"exploits/multiple/local/45697.txt","published":"2018-10-25","added":"2018-10-26","updated":"2018-10-26","author":"Hacker Fantastic","type":"local","platform":"multiple","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2018-14665"],"tags":null,"aliases":null,"applicationUrl":null,"screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":"https://twitter.com/hackerfantastic/status/1055517801224396800"}]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 27.2%, higher than 98% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window."},"changes":[{"kind":"epss","label":"EPSS jump","at":"2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z","detail":{"to":0.2704,"from":0.536,"percentile":0.97952},"summary":"EPSS moved from 53.6% to 27.0% probability of exploitation in the next thirty days."},{"kind":"epss","label":"EPSS jump","at":"2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z","detail":{"to":0.536,"from":0.2704,"percentile":0.98971},"summary":"EPSS moved from 27.0% to 53.6% probability of exploitation in the next thirty days."}],"references":[{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154942/Xorg-X11-Server-SUID-modulepath-Privilege-Escalation.html","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155276/Xorg-X11-Server-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html","source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105741","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041948","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3410","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14665","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/50c0cf885a6e91c0ea71fb49fa8f1b7c86fe330e","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/8a59e3b7dbb30532a7c3769c555e00d7c4301170","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2018-October/002927.html","tags":["Mitigation","Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201810-09","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/3802-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4328","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45697/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45742/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45832/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45908/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45922/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45938/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46142/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.securepatterns.com/2018/10/cve-2018-14665-xorg-x-server.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154942/Xorg-X11-Server-SUID-modulepath-Privilege-Escalation.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155276/Xorg-X11-Server-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105741","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041948","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3410","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14665","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/50c0cf885a6e91c0ea71fb49fa8f1b7c86fe330e","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/commit/8a59e3b7dbb30532a7c3769c555e00d7c4301170","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-announce/2018-October/002927.html","tags":["Mitigation","Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201810-09","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/3802-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4328","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45697/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45742/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45832/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45908/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45922/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45938/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46142/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.securepatterns.com/2018/10/cve-2018-14665-xorg-x-server.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14665","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}