CVE-2018-11769 [High] | RCE in Couchdb

CouchDB administrative users before 2.2.0 can configure the database server via HTTP(S). Due to insufficient validation of administrator-supplied configuration settings via the HTTP API, it is possible for a CouchDB administrator user to escalate their privileges to that of the operating system's user under which CouchDB runs, by bypassing the blacklist of configuration settings that are not allowed to be modified via the HTTP API. This privilege escalation effectively allows a CouchDB admin user to gain arbitrary remote code execution, bypassing CVE-2017-12636 and CVE-2018-8007.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	6.10%	8.15%	+2.05%
2	2026-02-22	6.40%	6.10%	-0.30%
3	2026-01-30	—	6.40%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

6.10%

8.15%

+2.05%

2026-02-22

6.40%

6.10%

-0.30%

2026-01-30

—

6.40%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.2	3.0	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.2	5.9	[email protected]
9.0	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:S) A single authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	8.0	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.2

3.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.2

5.9

[email protected]

9.0

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S): A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

8.0

10.0

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-11769

vendor	priority	summary	link
`gentoo`	normal	CVE-2018-11769: 1 GLSA(s) (201812-06), 1 atom(s) (dev-db/couchdb); latest impact normal.	https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2018-11769
`suse`	high	CVE-2018-11769 severity important: SUSE including 1 source package names (couchdb-1.7.2-3.6.1), 1 product×package rows across 1 product lines (SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8): Fixed 1.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-11769/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2018-11769 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (couchdb), 19 status rows across 19 suites (bionic, cosmic, disco, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 17, needed 1, needs-triage 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-11769

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-11769

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
apache	couchdb	< 2.2.0	cpe:2.3:a:apache:couchdb::::::::

References for CVE-2018-11769

URL	Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105046	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/1052ad7a1b32b9756df4f7860f5cb5a96b739f444117325a19a4bf75%40%3Cdev.couchdb.apache.org%3E
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/S5FPHVVU5KMRFKQTJPAM3TBGC7LKCWQS/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X3JOUCX7LHDV4YWZDQNXT5NTKKRANZQW/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201812-06	Third Party Advisory
https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbmu03935en_us

URL

CVE-2018-11769

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-11769

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-11769

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-11769

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-11769

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-11769

References for CVE-2018-11769