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CVE-2018-20969

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a !...

7.8 HighFix available

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Exploit likelihood

2.68%Up 0.6 points since Apr 14, 2021

What each source reports

NVD Score used 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0: 9.3 HighAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Weakness: CWE-78
Updated: 2026-11-02

CVE List No score

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: CVE-2018-20969
Updated: 2026-11-02

EUVDEUVD-2018-13506 No score

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: EUVD-2018-13506
Updated: 2026-11-03

GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-g5pm-269j-95rr 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a !...

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: GHSA-g5pm-269j-95rr
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness: CWE-78
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVALPINE-CVE-2018-20969 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: ALPINE-CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVAZL-35102 7.8

CVE-2018-20969 affecting package patch for versions less than 2.7.6-9

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: AZL-35102
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-05

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OSVAZL-6786 7.8

CVE-2018-20969 affecting package patch for versions less than 2.7.6-7

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: AZL-6786
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVBELL-CVE-2018-20969 7.8

CVE-2018-20969 does not affect BellSoft software

Record: BELL-CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSV 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2018-20969 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: DEBIAN-CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVJLSEC-2026-13 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: JLSEC-2026-13
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0: 9.3 CriticalAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVRHSA-2019:2798 7.8

Red Hat Security Advisory: patch security update

Record: RHSA-2019:2798
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVRHSA-2019:2964 7.8

Red Hat Security Advisory: patch security update

Record: RHSA-2019:2964
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVRHSA-2019:3757 7.8

Red Hat Security Advisory: patch security update

Record: RHSA-2019:3757
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVRHSA-2019:3758 7.8

Red Hat Security Advisory: patch security update

Record: RHSA-2019:3758
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVRHSA-2019:4061 7.8

Red Hat Security Advisory: patch security update

Record: RHSA-2019:4061
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2018-20969 7.8

do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter.

Record: UBUNTU-CVE-2018-20969
CVSS 3.0: 7.8 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVMGASA-2020-0093 No score

Updated patch packages fix security vulnerabilities

Updated patch package fixes security vulnerabilities:

In GNU patch through 2.7.6, the following of symlinks is mishandled in certain cases other than input files. (CVE-2019-13636).
A vulnerability was found in GNU patch through 2.7.6 is vulnerable to OS shell command injection that can be exploited by opening a crafted patch file that contains an ed style diff payload with shell metacharacters (CVE-2019-13638).
A vulnerability was found in do_ed_script in pch.c in GNU patch through 2.7.6 does not block strings beginning with a ! character. NOTE: this is the same commit as for CVE-2019-13638, but the ! syntax is specific to ed, and is unrelated to a shell metacharacter (CVE-2018-20969).

Record: MGASA-2020-0093
Updated: 2026-11-02

Affected products

gnu patch

Affected packages

Affected packages
Package	Affected	Fixed
`patch` Alpine:v3.10	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.11	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.12	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.13	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.14	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.15	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.16	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.17	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.18	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.19	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6

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Affected packages
Package	Affected	Fixed
`patch` Alpine:v3.20	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.21	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.22	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.23	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.24	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Alpine:v3.9	before 2.7.6-r6	2.7.6-r6
`patch` Azure Linux:3	before 2.7.6-9	2.7.6-9
`patch` Azure Linux:2	before 2.7.6-7	2.7.6-7
`patch` Debian:12	before 2.7.6-5	2.7.6-5
`patch` Debian:13	before 2.7.6-5	2.7.6-5
`patch` Debian:14	before 2.7.6-5	2.7.6-5
`patch` Debian:8 From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 2.7.5-1+deb8u3, plus listed versions 2.7.5-12.7.5-1+deb8u12.7.5-1+deb8u2	2.7.5-1+deb8u3
`patch` Debian:9 From an advisory covering 3 CVEs	before 2.7.5-1+deb9u2, plus listed versions 2.7.5-12.7.5-1+deb9u1	2.7.5-1+deb9u2
`patch` Debian:10 From an advisory covering 3 CVEs	before 2.7.6-3+deb10u1, plus listed versions 2.7.6-3	2.7.6-3+deb10u1
`patch_jll` Julia	before 2.8.0+0	2.8.0+0
`patch` Mageia:7 From an advisory covering 3 CVEs	before 2.7.6-4.1.mga7	2.7.6-4.1.mga7
`patch` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.6-9.el8_0	0:2.7.6-9.el8_0
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.6-9.el8_0	0:2.7.6-9.el8_0
`patch-debugsource` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.6-9.el8_0	0:2.7.6-9.el8_0
`patch` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-12.el7_7	0:2.7.1-12.el7_7
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_5	0:2.7.1-11.el7_5
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_5	0:2.7.1-11.el7_5
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_5	0:2.7.1-11.el7_5
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.5::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_5	0:2.7.1-11.el7_5
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_6	0:2.7.1-11.el7_6
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::computenode From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_6	0:2.7.1-11.el7_6
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_6	0:2.7.1-11.el7_6
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_eus:7.6::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_6	0:2.7.1-11.el7_6
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch` Red Hat:rhel_tus:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_tus:7.4::server From an advisory covering 2 CVEs	before 0:2.7.1-11.el7_4	0:2.7.1-11.el7_4
`patch` Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS	before 2.7.1-4ubuntu2.4+esm1, plus listed versions 2.7.1-32.7.1-42.7.1-4ubuntu12.7.1-4ubuntu22.7.1-4ubuntu2.32.7.1-4ubuntu2.4	2.7.1-4ubuntu2.4+esm1
`patch` Ubuntu:16.04:LTS	before 2.7.5-1ubuntu0.16.04.2, plus listed versions 2.7.5-12.7.5-1ubuntu0.16.04.1	2.7.5-1ubuntu0.16.04.2
`patch` Ubuntu:18.04:LTS	before 2.7.6-2ubuntu1.1, plus listed versions 2.7.5-1build12.7.6-12.7.6-2ubuntu1	2.7.6-2ubuntu1.1

History

History
Recorded	Changed	Sources
Nov 6, 2026	affected
Nov 5, 2026	facts	OSV
Nov 3, 2026	aliases	EUVD
Nov 2, 2026	first indexed	CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

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

In short

CVE-2018-20969 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Gnu Patch, published July 25, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.68%, the 85th percentile. Fixed in patch 2.7.6-r6.

References

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