VulnerabilityModified
CVE-2018-20969
do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character.
HIGH 7.8EPSS 2.68%
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (2.68%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.
- CVSS 3.0
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 2.68% probability · 86th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-78
- Affected
- gnu/patch
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 4.8% on 21 September 2026 to 2.7% on 27 October 2026.
References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154124/GNU-patch-Command-Injection-Directory-Traversal.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2798
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2964
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3757
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3758
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:4061
- https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/patch.git/commit/?id=3fcd042d26d70856e826a42b5f93dc4854d80bf0Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/irsl/gnu-patch-vulnerabilities
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Aug/29Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154124/GNU-patch-Command-Injection-Directory-Traversal.htmlThird Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2798
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2964
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3757
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3758
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:4061
- https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/patch.git/commit/?id=3fcd042d26d70856e826a42b5f93dc4854d80bf0Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/irsl/gnu-patch-vulnerabilities
- https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Aug/29Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.