CVE-2018-20506

SQLite before 3.25.3, when the FTS3 extension is enabled, encounters an integer overflow (and resultant buffer overflow) for FTS3 queries in a "merge" operation that occurs after crafted changes to FTS3 shadow tables, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by leveraging the ability to run arbitrary SQL statements (such as in certain WebSQL use cases). This is a different vulnerability than CVE-2018-20346.

Published: 2019-04-03 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-20506 is rated Moderate Risk (64.2/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 7.53%, 94th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. 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-2018-20506

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 8.49% 7.53% -0.96%
2 2026-06-11 8.70% 8.49% -0.21%
3 2026-05-29 — 8.70% —

Full EPSS history (25 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-20506

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.1 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/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-2018-20506

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-20506

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2018-20506 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (sqlite3), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-20506
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-20506
suse medium CVE-2018-20506 severity moderate: SUSE including 15 source package names (libsqlite3-0, libsqlite3-0-3.8.10.2-9.3.1, …), 182 product×package rows across 81 product lines (Image SLES12-SP5-Azure-BYOS, Image SLES12-SP5-Azure-Basic-On-Demand, … (81 product lines)): Known Not Affected 98, Fixed 84. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-20506/
ubuntu medium CVE-2018-20506 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (sqlite3), 6 status rows across 6 suites (bionic, cosmic, disco, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 5, not-affected 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-20506

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-20506

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
sqlite sqlite < 3.25.3 cpe:2.3:a:sqlite:sqlite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple iphone_os < 12.1.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:iphone_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x < 10.14.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple tvos < 12.1.2 cpe:2.3:o:apple:tvos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple watchos < 5.1.3 cpe:2.3:o:apple:watchos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple icloud <= 7.10 cpe:2.3:a:apple:icloud:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple itunes <= 12.9.3 cpe:2.3:a:apple:itunes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse leap 42.3 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-20506

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00070.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/62 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/64 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/66 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/67 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/68 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Jan/69 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106698 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10365
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/08/msg00037.html
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/28 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/29 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/31 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/32 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/33 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Jan/39 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190502-0004/ Third Party Advisory
https://sqlite.org/src/info/940f2adc8541a838 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209443 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209446 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209447 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209448 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209450 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209451 Third Party Advisory
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4019-1/
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4019-2/
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
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