SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityModified

CVE-2018-16402

libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact because it tries to decompress twice.

CRITICAL 9.8EPSS 3.69%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (3.69%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

libelf/elf_end.c in elfutils 0.173 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (double free and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact because it tries to decompress twice.

CVSS 3.1
9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
3.69% probability · 90th percentile
Public exploits
None in Exploit-DB
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-415
Affected
elfutils project/elfutils · debian/debian linux · redhat/enterprise linux desktop · redhat/enterprise linux server · redhat/enterprise linux workstation · opensuse/leap · canonical/ubuntu linux
Source
cve@mitre.org
EPSS trend
0%3%5%27 October 2026: 3.69%27 October 202627 October 2026

EPSS 3.7% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.