Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-4233

Memory Safety in Canonical Ubuntu Linux 16.04 … 18.04

Public PoCHigh EPSSMemory Safety
Published
08 June 2018
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.54 99th percentile
Risk Priority 87 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-4233 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. iOS before 11.4 is affected. Safari before 11.1.1 is affected. iCloud before 7.5 on Windows is affected. iTunes before 12.7.5 on Windows is affected. tvOS before 11.4 is affected. watchOS before 4.3.1…

more

is affected. The issue involves the "WebKit" component. It allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted web site.

CWE(s)

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.

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Executionconfidence: HIGH
Memory corruption in WebKit enables client-side code execution via a crafted website.
T1189 Drive-by Compromise Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
The vulnerability is triggered by visiting a malicious website, matching drive-by compromise.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-43429Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-43419Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2023-40447Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2024-23213Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2023-23517Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-43435Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-43425Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-31204Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-31273Same product: Apple Iphone Os
CVE-2025-31257Same product: Apple Iphone Os

Affected Assets

apple
safari
≤ 11.1.1
apple
iphone os
≤ 11.4
apple
tvos
≤ 11.4
apple
watchos
≤ 4.3.1
apple
icloud
≤ 7.5
apple
itunes
≤ 12.7.5
canonical
ubuntu linux
16.04, 17.10, 18.04

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

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.

addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

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 (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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.

detects

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References