CVE-2018-12018: Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p5gc-957x-gfw9
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-129
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-12018 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index) affecting Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves go ethereum les protocol implementation vulnerable to denial of service. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.8.11.

CVE-2018-12018 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-12018
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p5gc-957x-gfw9
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index
Affected Product Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum
Package Ecosystem Go
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:3.0/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-2018-12018

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

github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum fixed: 1.8.11 
Upgrade github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum to 1.8.11
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-12018, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum:

inspect dependencies for github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.8.11), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index, where the product uses untrusted input when calculating or using an array index, but the product does not validate or incorrectly validates the index to ensure the index references a valid position within the array. In Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum, 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

The GetBlockHeadersMsg handler in the LES protocol implementation in Go Ethereum (aka geth) before 1.8.11 may lead to an access violation because of an integer signedness error for the array index, which allows attackers to launch a Denial of Service attack by sending a packet with a -1 query.Skip value. The vulnerable remote node would be crashed by such an attack immediately, aka the EPoD (Ethereum Packet of Death) issue. ### Specific Go Packages Affected github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/les

CVE-2018-12018 Affected Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.8.11
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
golang/github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
Go
< 1.8.11
1.8.11

References

NVD — CVE-2018-12018 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12018
Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/pull/16891
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/commit/a5237a27eaf81946a3edb4fafe13ed6359d119e4
Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum
Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum Release RELEASE
https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases/tag/v1.8.11
peckshield.com/2018/06/27/epod WEB
https://peckshield.com/2018/06/27/EPoD
pkg.go.dev/vuln/go-2021-0075 WEB
https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2021-0075
web.archive.org/web/20180628022133/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20180628022133/https://peckshield.com/2018/06/27/EPoD

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-12018?
CVE-2018-12018 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum involving Go Ethereum LES protocol implementation vulnerable to Denial of Service under CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index.
Which Github.com/ethereum/go ethereum versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.8.11 across affected packages: github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum.
What version fixes CVE-2018-12018?
Upgrading to 1.8.11 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum affected?
Yes, github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum is affected in releases prior to 1.8.11. Upgrade your dependency to 1.8.11 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-12018?
CVE-2018-12018 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-12018?
CVE-2018-12018 is classified under CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index (The product uses untrusted input when calculating or using an array index, but the product does not validate or incorrectly validates the index to ensure the index references a valid position within the array.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2018-12018?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum'. 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-p5gc-957x-gfw9",
  "modified" : "2024-05-20T19:55:50Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T03:01:31Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-12018" ],
  "summary" : "Go Ethereum LES protocol implementation vulnerable to Denial of Service",
  "details" : "The GetBlockHeadersMsg handler in the LES protocol implementation in Go Ethereum (aka geth) before 1.8.11 may lead to an access violation because of an integer signedness error for the array index, which allows attackers to launch a Denial of Service attack by sending a packet with a -1 query.Skip value. The vulnerable remote node would be crashed by such an attack immediately, aka the EPoD (Ethereum Packet of Death) issue.\n\n### Specific Go Packages Affected\ngithub.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/les",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.8.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12018"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/pull/16891"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/commit/a5237a27eaf81946a3edb4fafe13ed6359d119e4"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/releases/tag/v1.8.11"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://peckshield.com/2018/06/27/EPoD"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2021-0075"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20180628022133/https://peckshield.com/2018/06/27/EPoD"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-129" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-08T00:28:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-07-05T02:29:00Z"
  }
}