CVE-2018-20450 json
Double-free and invalid free vulnerabilities
published 2018-12-25 7 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also CVE-2018-20452 , EUVD-2018-13005 , RSEC-2023-1
- cvss
- 6.5
- version 3.0, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 1.1%
- EPSS 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 64%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
The read_MSAT function in ole.c in libxls 1.4.0 has a double free that allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-2897.
Patch / fix
- cran readxl 1.3.0
- r-cran-readxl Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 1.2.0.9000-1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2018-20450
Exploit prediction
1.06% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 64% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Exploits and checks
- github.com https://github.com/evanmiller/libxls/issues/34 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 3.0 | 6.5 | CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| NVD | 2.0 | 4.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| cran | readxl | >=0.1.0, <1.3.0 |
1.3.0 |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-415 Double Free
References
-
github.com
/evanmiller/libxls/issues/34
exploit, issue-tracking, third-party-advisory, web
-
security.gentoo.org
/glsa/202003-64
vendor-advisory
-
readxl.tidyverse.org
/news/index.html#readxl-130
web
-
security-tracker.debian.org
/tracker/CVE-2017-2896
web
-
github.com
/evanmiller/libxls/issues/35
web
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2018-20450
- NVD CVE-2018-20450
- OSV RSEC-2023-1
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.