CVE-2018-19640 | Code execution if run with command line switch -v

If the attacker manages to create files in the directory used to collect log files in supportutils before version 3.1-5.7.1 (e.g. with CVE-2018-19638) he can kill arbitrary processes on the local machine.

Published: 2019-03-05 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-19640 is rated Low Risk (25.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.30%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2018-19640

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 0.05% 0.30% +0.25%
2 2025-03-19 0.04% 0.05% +0.01%
3 2023-03-07 0.04%

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-19640

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.4 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
0.8 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
2.1 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
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.
3.9 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-19640

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-19640

vendor priority summary link
suse medium CVE-2018-19640 severity moderate: SUSE including 251 source package names (10.1-4.1:supportutils-3.1-5.7.1, amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20210304-hvm-ssd-x86_64, …), 325 product×package rows across 65 product lines (Container suse/sle-micro/5.0/toolbox, Image SLES12-SP5-Azure-BYOS, … (65 product lines)): Fixed 168, Known Affected 157. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-19640/

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-19640

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
opensuse supportutils < 3.1-5.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:opensuse:supportutils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-19640

cvelogic Threat Intelligence