CVE-2018-14553

gdImageClone in gd.c in libgd 2.1.0-rc2 through 2.2.5 has a NULL pointer dereference allowing attackers to crash an application via a specific function call sequence. Only affects PHP when linked with an external libgd (not bundled).

Published: 2020-02-11 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-14553 is rated Moderate Risk (63/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 3.41%). EPSS rose +2.43% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Review affected assets and schedule 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-2018-14553

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 0.98% 3.41% +2.43%
2 2026-03-12 0.75% 0.98% +0.23%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.75% —

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-14553

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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: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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-14553

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-14553

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2018-14553: 1 source package rows (gd); 10 state rows across 10 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 10, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2018-14553
debian low CVE-2018-14553 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libgd2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-14553
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-14553
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-14553/
ubuntu low CVE-2018-14553 low priority: Ubuntu including 6 source packages (doxygen, libgd2, php5, php7.0, php7.2, php7.3), 102 status rows across 17 suites (bionic, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 61, released 16, ignored 8, not-affected 7, needs-triage 6, needed 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-14553

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-14553

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
libgd libgd >= 2.1.1, <= 2.2.5 cpe:2.3:a:libgd:libgd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
libgd libgd 2.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:libgd:libgd:2.1.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
libgd libgd 2.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:libgd:libgd:2.1.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 32 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 14.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 16.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 18.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 19.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse leap 15.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-14553

cvelogic Threat Intelligence