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CVE-2017-18205

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer...

8.1 HighFix available

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

2.04%Up 1.0 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 8.1

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
CVE-2017-18205
CVSS 3.0
8.1 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0
6.8 MediumAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
CVE-2017-18205
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2017-9338 No score

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
EUVD-2017-9338
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-r2ph-r5g8-q5vv 8.1

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer...

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
GHSA-r2ph-r5g8-q5vv
CVSS 3.0
8.1 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 8.1

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
CVE-2017-18205
CVSS 3.0
8.1 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2017-18205 8.1

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2017-18205
CVSS 3.0
8.1 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 6 moreShow less
OSVRHSA-2018:3073 7.5

Red Hat Security Advisory: zsh security and bug fix update

Record
RHSA-2018:3073
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2017-18205 8.1

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2017-18205
CVSS 3.0
8.1 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2018-0168 No score

Updated zsh packages fix security vulnerabilities

Zsh has been updated to fix 4 security issues.

In builtin.c in zsh before 5.4, when sh compatibility mode is used, there is a NULL pointer dereference during processing of the cd command with no argument if HOME is not set. (CVE-2017-18205)

In utils.c in zsh before 5.4, symlink expansion had a buffer overflow. (CVE-2017-18206)

In subst.c in zsh through 5.4.2, there is a NULL pointer dereference when using ${(PA)...} on an empty array result.(CVE-2018-7548)

In params.c in zsh through 5.4.2, there is a crash during a copy of an empty hash table, as demonstrated by typeset -p. (CVE-2018-7549)

Record
MGASA-2018-0168
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2018:1072-1 No score

Security update for zsh

This update for zsh fixes the following issues:

  • CVE-2014-10070: environment variable injection could lead to local privilege escalation (bnc#1082885)

  • CVE-2014-10071: buffer overflow in exec.c could lead to denial of service. (bnc#1082977)

  • CVE-2014-10072: buffer overflow In utils.c when scanning very long directory paths for symbolic links. (bnc#1082975)

  • CVE-2016-10714: In zsh before 5.3, an off-by-one error resulted in undersized buffers that were intended to support PATH_MAX characters. (bnc#1083250)

  • CVE-2017-18205: In builtin.c when sh compatibility mode is used, a NULL pointer dereference could lead to denial of service (bnc#1082998)

  • CVE-2018-1071: exec.c:hashcmd() function vulnerability could lead to denial of service. (bnc#1084656)

  • CVE-2018-1083: Autocomplete vulnerability could lead to privilege escalation. (bnc#1087026)

  • CVE-2018-7549: In params.c in zsh through 5.4.2, there is a crash during a copy of an empty hash table, as demonstrated by typeset -p. (bnc#1082991)

  • CVE-2017-18206: buffer overrun in xsymlinks could lead to denial of service (bnc#1083002)

  • Autocomplete and REPORTTIME broken (bsc#896914)

Record
SUSE-SU-2018:1072-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2022:14910-1 No score

Security update for zsh

This update for zsh fixes the following issues:

  • CVE-2019-20044: Fixed an insecure dropping of privileges when unsetting the PRIVILEGED option (bsc#1163882).
  • CVE-2018-13259: Fixed an unexpected truncation of long shebang lines (bsc#1107294).
  • CVE-2018-7549: Fixed a crash when an empty hash table (bsc#1082991).
  • CVE-2018-1083: Fixed a stack-based buffer overflow when using tab completion on directories with long names (bsc#1087026).
  • CVE-2018-1071: Fixed a stack-based buffer overflow when executing certain commands (bsc#1084656).
  • CVE-2018-0502: Fixed a mishandling of shebang lines (bsc#1107296).
  • CVE-2017-18206: Fixed a buffer overflow related to symlink processing (bsc#1083002).
  • CVE-2017-18205: Fixed an application crash when using cd with no arguments (bsc#1082998).
  • CVE-2016-10714: Fixed a potential application crash when handling maximum length paths (bsc#1083250).
  • CVE-2014-10072: Fixed a buffer overflow when scanning very long directory paths for symbolic links (bsc#1082975).
  • CVE-2014-10071: Fixed a buffer overflow when redirecting output to a long file descriptor (bsc#1082977).
  • CVE-2014-10070: Fixed a privilege escalation vulnerability via environment variables (bsc#1082885).
Record
SUSE-SU-2022:14910-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3593-1 No score

zsh vulnerabilities

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain enviroment variables. An attacker could possibly use this issue to gain privileged access to the system. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-10070)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain inputs. An attacker could possibly use this to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-10071)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled some symbolic links. An attacker could possibly use this to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. (CVE-2014-10072)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain errors. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2016-10714)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain commands. An attacker could possibly use this to execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-18205)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain symlinks. An attacker could possibly use this to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 17.10. (CVE-2017-18206)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain inputs. An attacker could possible use to execute arbitrary code. This issue only affected Ubuntu 17.10. (CVE-2018-7548)

It was discovered that Zsh incorrectly handled certain inputs. An attacker could possibly use this to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2018-7549)

Record
USN-3593-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
zsh
Debian:12
before 5.4.1-1
5.4.1-1
zsh
Debian:13
before 5.4.1-1
5.4.1-1
zsh
Debian:14
before 5.4.1-1
5.4.1-1
zsh
Mageia:6
before 5.3.1-1.2.mga6
5.3.1-1.2.mga6
zsh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-html
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-html
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
Show 13 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
zsh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-html
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh-html
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:5.0.2-31.el7
0:5.0.2-31.el7
zsh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3
before 5.0.5-6.7.2
5.0.5-6.7.2
zsh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3
before 5.0.5-6.7.2
5.0.5-6.7.2
zsh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3
before 5.0.5-6.7.2
5.0.5-6.7.2
zsh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3
before 4.3.6-67.9.8.1
4.3.6-67.9.8.1
zsh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS
before 4.3.6-67.9.8.1
4.3.6-67.9.8.1
zsh
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS
before 5.0.2-3ubuntu6.1, plus listed versions
5.0.2-3ubuntu6
5.0.2-3ubuntu6.1
zsh
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
before 5.1.1-1ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions
5.1.1-1ubuntu15.1.1-1ubuntu2
5.1.1-1ubuntu2.1

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2017-18205 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.1) in Zsh Project Zsh, published February 27, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.04%, the 81st percentile. Fixed in zsh 5.4.1-1.

References

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