CVE-2018-14647: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gvw2-fvqg-v8mm
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-909 CWE-335
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-14647 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-909: Missing Initialization of Resource) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not initialize a critical resource.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2018-14647 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-14647
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gvw2-fvqg-v8mm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-909: Missing Initialization of Resource
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-14647

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-14647, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-909: Missing Initialization of Resource, where the product does not initialize a critical resource. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization. This could make it easy to conduct denial of service attacks against Expat by constructing an XML document that would cause pathological hash collisions in Expat's internal data structures, consuming large amounts CPU and RAM. The vulnerability exists in Python versions 3.7.0, 3.6.0 through 3.6.6, 3.5.0 through 3.5.6, 3.4.0 through 3.4.9, 2.7.0 through 2.7.15.

References

NVD — CVE-2018-14647 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-14647
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2019:12... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1260
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2019:20... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2030
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2019:37... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3725
bugs.python.org/issue34623 WEB
https://bugs.python.org/issue34623
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14647
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b1038... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b103833cb5bc8466e24ff0ecc5e75b45a705334ab6a444e64e840a0%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b1038... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b103833cb5bc8466e24ff0ecc5e75b45a705334ab6a444e64e840a0@%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/06/msg00022.html
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/06/msg00023.html
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RBJCB2HWOJLP3L7CUQHJHNBHLSVOXJE5
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RBJCB2HWOJLP3L7CUQHJHNBHLSVOXJE5
usn.ubuntu.com/3817-1 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3817-1
usn.ubuntu.com/3817-2 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3817-2
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4306
Software Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4307
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00040.html
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105396
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041740

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-14647?
CVE-2018-14647 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-909: Missing Initialization of Resource.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2018-14647?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-14647?
CVE-2018-14647 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-14647?
CVE-2018-14647 is classified under CWE-909: Missing Initialization of Resource (The product does not initialize a critical resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-14647?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-gvw2-fvqg-v8mm",
  "modified" : "2026-10-07T21:31:09Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:25:00Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-14647" ],
  "details" : "Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization. This could make it easy to conduct denial of service attacks against Expat by constructing an XML document that would cause pathological hash collisions in Expat's internal data structures, consuming large amounts CPU and RAM. The vulnerability exists in Python versions 3.7.0, 3.6.0 through 3.6.6, 3.5.0 through 3.5.6, 3.4.0 through 3.4.9, 2.7.0 through 2.7.15.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
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  "references" : [ {
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2030"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3725"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugs.python.org/issue34623"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-14647"
  }, {
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    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b103833cb5bc8466e24ff0ecc5e75b45a705334ab6a444e64e840a0%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1b103833cb5bc8466e24ff0ecc5e75b45a705334ab6a444e64e840a0@%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/06/msg00022.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/06/msg00023.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RBJCB2HWOJLP3L7CUQHJHNBHLSVOXJE5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RBJCB2HWOJLP3L7CUQHJHNBHLSVOXJE5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://usn.ubuntu.com/3817-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://usn.ubuntu.com/3817-2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4306"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4307"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00040.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105396"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041740"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-335", "CWE-909" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-09-25T00:29:00Z"
  }
}