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CVE-2018-16947

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape...

9.8 CriticalFix available

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

2.60%Up 1.8 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 9.8

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
CVE-2018-16947
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0
7.5 HighAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness
CWE-287
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
CVE-2018-16947
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-8735 No score

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
EUVD-2018-8735
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-67mr-rvh8-9qx2 9.8

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape...

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
GHSA-67mr-rvh8-9qx2
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-287
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 9.8

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
CVE-2018-16947
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2018-16947 9.8

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2018-16947
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2018-16947 9.8

An issue was discovered in OpenAFS before 1.6.23 and 1.8.x before 1.8.2. The backup tape controller (butc) process accepts incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs. Handling those RPCs results in operations being performed with administrator credentials, including dumping/restoring volume contents and manipulating the backup database. For example, an unauthenticated attacker can replace any volume's content with arbitrary data.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2018-16947
CVSS 3.0
9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2019-0021 No score

Updated openafs packages fix security vulnerabilities

Jeffrey Altman reported that the backup tape controller (butc) process does accept incoming RPCs but does not require (or allow for) authentication of those RPCs, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to perform volume operations with administrator credentials (CVE-2018-16947).

Mark Vitale reported that several RPC server routines do not fully initialize output variables, leaking memory contents (from both the stack and the heap) to the remote caller for otherwise-successful RPCs (CVE-2018-16948).

Mark Vitale reported that an unauthenticated attacker can consume large amounts of server memory and network bandwidth via specially crafted requests, resulting in denial of service to legitimate clients (CVE-2018-16949).

Record
MGASA-2019-0021
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:11113-1 No score

openafs-1.8.8-1.13 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the openafs-1.8.8-1.13 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:11113-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
openafs
Debian:12
before 1.8.2-1
1.8.2-1
openafs
Debian:13
before 1.8.2-1
1.8.2-1
openafs
Debian:8
before 1.6.9-2+deb8u8, plus listed versions
1.6.9-2+deb8u21.6.9-2+deb8u31.6.9-2+deb8u41.6.9-2+deb8u4~bpo70+11.6.9-2+deb8u51.6.9-2+deb8u61.6.9-2+deb8u7
1.6.9-2+deb8u8
openafs
Debian:9
before 1.6.20-2+deb9u2, plus listed versions
1.6.20-21.6.20-2+deb9u1
1.6.20-2+deb9u2
openafs
Mageia:6
before 1.6.23-1.mga6
1.6.23-1.mga6
openafs
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.6.14-11.6.15-11.6.15-1ubuntu11.6.15-1ubuntu1.1
None known
openafs
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.6.21-31.6.21-3ubuntu11.6.22-31.8.0~pre4-11.8.0~pre5-11.8.0~pre5-1ubuntu11.8.0~pre5-1ubuntu1.11.8.0~pre5-1ubuntu1.2
None known
openafs
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
before 1.8.8-1.13
1.8.8-1.13

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-2018-16947 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Openafs, published September 12, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.60%, the 85th percentile. Fixed in openafs 1.8.2-1.

References

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