CVE-2018-11786
Improper Privilege Management in Apache Karaf
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
8.8
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
CVE-2018-11786- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 9.0 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
CVE-2018-11786- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-0805 No score
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
EUVD-2018-0805- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v
8.8
Improper Privilege Management in Apache Karaf
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
GHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
8.8
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
CVE-2018-11786- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v
8.8
Improper Privilege Management in Apache Karaf
In Apache Karaf prior to 4.2.0 release, if the sshd service in Karaf is left on so an administrator can manage the running instance, any user with rights to the Karaf console can pivot and read/write any file on the file system to which the Karaf process user has access. This can be locked down a bit by using chroot to change the root directory to protect files outside of the Karaf install directory; it can be further locked down by defining a security manager policy that limits file system access to those directories beneath the Karaf home that are necessary for the system to run. However, this still allows anyone with ssh access to the Karaf process to read and write a large number of files as the Karaf process user.
- Record
GHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.karaf:apache-karafMaven |
before 4.2.0 | 4.2.0 |
org.apache.karaf:apache-karafMaven |
before 4.2.0, plus listed versions 2.0.02.1.02.1.12.1.22.1.3 Show 45 moreShow less2.1.42.1.52.1.62.2.02.2.12.2.102.2.112.2.22.2.32.2.42.2.52.2.62.2.72.2.82.2.92.3.02.3.12.3.102.3.112.3.122.3.22.3.32.3.42.3.52.3.62.3.72.3.82.3.92.4.02.4.12.4.22.4.32.4.43.0.03.0.0.RC13.0.13.0.103.0.23.0.33.0.43.0.53.0.63.0.73.0.83.0.9 |
4.2.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-11786 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) in Apache Karaf, published September 18, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.90%, the 79th percentile. Fixed in org.apache.karaf:apache-karaf 4.2.0.
References
lists.apache.org/thread.html/5b7ac762c6bbe77ac5d9389f093fc6dbf196c36d788e3d7629e6c1d9%40%3Cdev.karaf.apache.org%3E
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/KARAF-5427
karaf.apache.org/security/cve-2018-11786.txt
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11786
github.com/advisories/GHSA-9448-c9wq-jg9v
lists.apache.org/thread.html/5b7ac762c6bbe77ac5d9389f093fc6dbf196c36d788e3d7629e6c1d9@%3Cdev.karaf.apache.org%3E
Left out here: 23 versions. The JSON record has them.