CVE-2018-20683

commands/rsync in Gitolite before 3.6.11, if .gitolite.rc enables rsync, mishandles the rsync command line, which allows attackers to have a "bad" impact by triggering use of an option other than -v, -n, -q, or -P.

Published: 2019-01-10 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-20683 is rated Moderate Risk (55.1/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.50%). Mandatory action: 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-2018-20683

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 2025-11-21 0.61% 0.50% -0.11%
2 2025-11-18 0.51% 0.61% +0.10%
3 2025-03-30 0.51%

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-20683

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-2018-20683

OS Trackers for CVE-2018-20683

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2018-20683: 1 source package rows (gitolite); 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-2018-20683
debian not yet assigned CVE-2018-20683 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (gitolite3), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-20683
ubuntu medium CVE-2018-20683 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (gitolite, gitolite3), 38 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 19, not-affected 14, needs-triage 4, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2018-20683

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-20683

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gitolite gitolite < 3.6.11 cpe:2.3:a:gitolite:gitolite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-20683

cvelogic Threat Intelligence