CVE-2018-17846: Golang.org/x/net Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vfw5-hrgq-h5wf
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-835
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-17846 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting Golang.org/x/net libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves x/net/html vulnerable to dos during html parsing. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3.

CVE-2018-17846 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-17846
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vfw5-hrgq-h5wf
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Affected Product Golang.org/x/net
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:3.1/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-2018-17846

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

golang.org/x/net fixed: 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3 
Upgrade golang.org/x/net to 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3
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 golang.org/x/net

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-17846, inspect your project dependencies for Golang.org/x/net:

inspect dependencies for golang.org/x/net

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Golang.org/x/net in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3), 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-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In Golang.org/x/net, 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 html package (aka x/net/html) through 2018-09-25 in Go mishandles `<table><math><select><mi><select></table>`, leading to an infinite loop during an `html.Parse` call because `inSelectIM` and `inSelectInTableIM` do not comply with a specification.

CVE-2018-17846 Affected Golang.org/x/net Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
golang.org/x/net
golang/golang.org/x/net
Go
< 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3
0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3

References

NVD — CVE-2018-17846 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17846
Golang.org/x/net Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/golang/go/issues/27842
go-review.googlesource.com/c/137275 WEB
https://go-review.googlesource.com/c/137275
go.dev/issue/27842 WEB
https://go.dev/issue/27842
go.googlesource.com/net/+/d26f9f9a57f3f... WEB
https://go.googlesource.com/net/+/d26f9f9a57f3fab6a695bec0d84433c2c50f8bbf
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LREEWY6KNLHRWFZ7OT4HVLMVVCGGUHON
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UKRCI7WIOCOCD3H7NXWRGIRABTQOZOBK
pkg.go.dev/vuln/go-2020-0014 WEB
https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2020-0014

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-17846?
CVE-2018-17846 is a security vulnerability in Golang.org/x/net involving x/net/html Vulnerable to DoS During HTML Parsing under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').
Which Golang.org/x/net versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3 across affected packages: golang.org/x/net.
What version fixes CVE-2018-17846?
Upgrading to 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is golang.org/x/net affected?
Yes, golang.org/x/net is affected in releases prior to 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3. Upgrade your dependency to 0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-17846?
CVE-2018-17846 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-2018-17846?
CVE-2018-17846 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2018-17846?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for golang.org/x/net'. 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-vfw5-hrgq-h5wf",
  "modified" : "2024-05-20T19:40:06Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-25T17:33:10Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-17846" ],
  "summary" : "x/net/html Vulnerable to DoS During HTML Parsing",
  "details" : "The html package (aka x/net/html) through 2018-09-25 in Go mishandles `<table><math><select><mi><select></table>`, leading to an infinite loop during an `html.Parse` call because `inSelectIM` and `inSelectInTableIM` do not comply with a specification.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "golang.org/x/net"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.0.0-20190125091013-d26f9f9a57f3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17846"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/golang/go/issues/27842"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://go-review.googlesource.com/c/137275"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://go.dev/issue/27842"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://go.googlesource.com/net/+/d26f9f9a57f3fab6a695bec0d84433c2c50f8bbf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/LREEWY6KNLHRWFZ7OT4HVLMVVCGGUHON"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UKRCI7WIOCOCD3H7NXWRGIRABTQOZOBK"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2020-0014"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-835" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-25T17:33:10Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}