CVE-2018-12120

Node.js: All versions prior to Node.js 6.15.0: Debugger port 5858 listens on any interface by default: When the debugger is enabled with `node --debug` or `node debug`, it listens to port 5858 on all interfaces by default. This may allow remote computers to attach to the debug port and evaluate arbitrary JavaScript. The default interface is now localhost. It has always been possible to start the debugger on a specific interface, such as `node --debug=localhost`. The debugger was removed in Node.js 8 and replaced with the inspector, so no versions from 8 and later are vulnerable.

Published: 2018-11-28 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-12120 is rated High Risk (67.7/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.28%). EPSS rose +3.85% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-12120

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.42% 4.28% +3.85%
2 2025-09-08 0.64% 0.42% -0.22%
3 2025-09-07 — 0.64% —

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-12120

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 2.2 5.9 [email protected]
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-12120

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-12120

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2018-12120: 1 source package rows (nodejs); 10 state rows across 5 repos (3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 0, open 10. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2018-12120
debian unimportant CVE-2018-12120 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (nodejs), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-12120
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-12120
suse critical CVE-2018-12120 severity critical: SUSE including 16 source package names (nodejs12, nodejs12-devel, …), 40 product×package rows across 10 product lines (SUSE Enterprise Storage 4, SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1, … (10 product lines)): Known Not Affected 28, Fixed 12. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-12120/
ubuntu medium CVE-2018-12120 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (nodejs), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bionic, cosmic, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 4, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-12120

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-12120

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nodejs node.js >= 6.0.0, < 6.15.0 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-12120

cvelogic Threat Intelligence