Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-16858

Path Traversal in Libreoffice ≤ 6.0.7

Public PoCHigh EPSSPath Traversal
Published
25 March 2019
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.67 99.2th percentile
Risk Priority 80 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-16858 is a high-severity Product UI does not Warn User of Unsafe Actions (CWE-356) vulnerability in Libreoffice Libreoffice. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

It was found that libreoffice before versions 6.0.7 and 6.1.3 was vulnerable to a directory traversal attack which could be used to execute arbitrary macros bundled with a document. An attacker could craft a document, which when opened by LibreOffice,…

more

would execute a Python method from a script in any arbitrary file system location, specified relative to the LibreOffice install location.

CWE(s)
CWE-356CWE-22

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1204.002 Malicious File Executionconfidence: HIGH
Opening a crafted malicious document triggers macro execution from an arbitrary filesystem location.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.006 Python Executionconfidence: HIGH
The vulnerability enables execution of arbitrary Python code bundled in the document via path traversal.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.008 Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking Stealthconfidence: MEDIUM
Directory traversal to load a Python script outside the intended macro directory hijacks the intended execution flow.
attack.mitre.org →
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-12425Same product: Libreoffice Libreoffice
CVE-2023-1183Same product: Libreoffice Libreoffice
CVE-2023-37218Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-41655Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-7712Shared CWE-22
CVE-2020-4430Shared CWE-22
CVE-2025-41035Shared CWE-22
CVE-2021-47977Shared CWE-22
CVE-2024-3980Shared CWE-22
CVE-2026-32805Shared CWE-22

Affected Assets

libreoffice
libreoffice
≤ 6.0.7 · 6.1.0 — 6.1.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-15 Collaborative Computing Devices and Applications
addresses: CWE-356

Mandates explicit user-visible indication, directly countering absence of warnings for device activation.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include UI design requirements that warn users before unsafe actions.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing can verify presence of warnings for unsafe user actions.

A.6.3 Information security awareness, education and training partial match
prevents

Security awareness training can teach users to heed or demand warnings for unsafe actions.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle requires UI design to warn users before unsafe actions.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include user warnings for dangerous operations.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles can mandate confirmation prompts for risky actions.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding practices can embed user warnings before unsafe operations.

References