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CVE-2018-16888

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it...

4.4 MediumFix available

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

0.29%Down 2.6 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 4.4

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
CVE-2018-16888
CVSS 3.0
4.4 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-250
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-8676 4.4

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
EUVD-2018-8676
CVSS 3.0
4.4 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-34mm-3fgq-qjxq 4.7

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it...

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
GHSA-34mm-3fgq-qjxq
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-269
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 4.7

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
CVE-2018-16888
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 3.0
4.4 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0
1.9 LowAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Weakness
CWE-250, CWE-269
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 4.7

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
CVE-2018-16888
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2018-16888 4.7

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2018-16888
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2019:2091 4.4

Red Hat Security Advisory: systemd security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Record
RHSA-2019:2091
CVSS 3.0
4.4 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2018-16888 4.7

It was discovered systemd does not correctly check the content of PIDFile files before using it to kill processes. When a service is run from an unprivileged user (e.g. User field set in the service file), a local attacker who is able to write to the PIDFile of the mentioned service may use this flaw to trick systemd into killing other services and/or privileged processes. Versions before v237 are vulnerable.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2018-16888
CVSS 3.1
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 3.0
4.4 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 3.0
4.7 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-4269-1 No score

systemd vulnerabilities

It was discovered that systemd incorrectly handled certain PIDFile files. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to trick systemd into killing privileged processes. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. (CVE-2018-16888)

It was discovered that systemd incorrectly handled certain udevadm trigger commands. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause systemd to consume resources, leading to a denial of service. (CVE-2019-20386)

Jann Horn discovered that systemd incorrectly handled services that use the DynamicUser property. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to access resources owned by a different service in the future. This issue only affected Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. (CVE-2019-3843, CVE-2019-3844)

Tavis Ormandy discovered that systemd incorrectly handled certain Polkit queries. A local attacker could use this issue to cause systemd to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code and escalate privileges. (CVE-2020-1712)

Record
USN-4269-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
systemd
Debian:12
before 237-1
237-1
systemd
Debian:13
before 237-1
237-1
systemd
Debian:14
before 237-1
237-1
libgudev1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-sysv
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
Show 40 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
systemd-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-journal-gateway
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-networkd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-resolved
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-sysv
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-journal-gateway
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-networkd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-resolved
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-sysv
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-journal-gateway
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-networkd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-resolved
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
libgudev1-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-libs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-sysv
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-journal-gateway
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-networkd
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd-resolved
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
From an advisory covering 3 CVEs
before 0:219-67.el7
0:219-67.el7
systemd
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
before 229-4ubuntu21.27, plus listed versions
225-1ubuntu9227-2ubuntu1227-2ubuntu2228-1ubuntu2228-2ubuntu1
Show 44 moreShow less
228-2ubuntu2228-3ubuntu1228-4ubuntu1228-4ubuntu2228-5ubuntu1228-5ubuntu2228-5ubuntu3228-6ubuntu1229-1ubuntu2229-1ubuntu4229-2ubuntu1229-3ubuntu1229-3ubuntu2229-4ubuntu1229-4ubuntu4229-4ubuntu5229-4ubuntu6229-4ubuntu7229-4ubuntu8229-4ubuntu10229-4ubuntu11229-4ubuntu12229-4ubuntu13229-4ubuntu16229-4ubuntu17229-4ubuntu19229-4ubuntu20229-4ubuntu21229-4ubuntu21.1229-4ubuntu21.2229-4ubuntu21.3229-4ubuntu21.4229-4ubuntu21.5229-4ubuntu21.6229-4ubuntu21.8229-4ubuntu21.9229-4ubuntu21.10229-4ubuntu21.15229-4ubuntu21.16229-4ubuntu21.17229-4ubuntu21.19229-4ubuntu21.21229-4ubuntu21.22229-4ubuntu21.23
229-4ubuntu21.27
systemd
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 229-4ubuntu21.27, plus listed versions
225-1ubuntu9227-2ubuntu1227-2ubuntu2228-1ubuntu2228-2ubuntu1
Show 44 moreShow less
228-2ubuntu2228-3ubuntu1228-4ubuntu1228-4ubuntu2228-5ubuntu1228-5ubuntu2228-5ubuntu3228-6ubuntu1229-1ubuntu2229-1ubuntu4229-2ubuntu1229-3ubuntu1229-3ubuntu2229-4ubuntu1229-4ubuntu4229-4ubuntu5229-4ubuntu6229-4ubuntu7229-4ubuntu8229-4ubuntu10229-4ubuntu11229-4ubuntu12229-4ubuntu13229-4ubuntu16229-4ubuntu17229-4ubuntu19229-4ubuntu20229-4ubuntu21229-4ubuntu21.1229-4ubuntu21.2229-4ubuntu21.3229-4ubuntu21.4229-4ubuntu21.5229-4ubuntu21.6229-4ubuntu21.8229-4ubuntu21.9229-4ubuntu21.10229-4ubuntu21.15229-4ubuntu21.16229-4ubuntu21.17229-4ubuntu21.19229-4ubuntu21.21229-4ubuntu21.22229-4ubuntu21.23
229-4ubuntu21.27
systemd
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
From an advisory covering 5 CVEs
before 237-3ubuntu10.38, plus listed versions
234-2ubuntu12235-2ubuntu3235-3ubuntu2235-3ubuntu3237-3ubuntu3
Show 27 moreShow less
237-3ubuntu4237-3ubuntu6237-3ubuntu7237-3ubuntu8237-3ubuntu10237-3ubuntu10.2237-3ubuntu10.3237-3ubuntu10.4237-3ubuntu10.6237-3ubuntu10.9237-3ubuntu10.11237-3ubuntu10.12237-3ubuntu10.13237-3ubuntu10.15237-3ubuntu10.17237-3ubuntu10.19237-3ubuntu10.20237-3ubuntu10.21237-3ubuntu10.22237-3ubuntu10.23237-3ubuntu10.24237-3ubuntu10.25237-3ubuntu10.26237-3ubuntu10.28237-3ubuntu10.29237-3ubuntu10.31237-3ubuntu10.33
237-3ubuntu10.38

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
aliases, productsEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

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

In short

CVE-2018-16888 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.4) in Systemd, published January 14, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.29%, the 22nd percentile. Fixed in systemd 237-1.

References

Show 40 moreShow less
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