CVE-2019-18183
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the...
CVE-2019-18183 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Pacman Project Pacman, published February 24, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.67%, the 89th percentile. Fixed in pacman 5.2.0-r0.
- Severity
- 9.8 CriticalCVSS 3.1, NVD
- Exploit chance
- 3.67%EPSS, 89th percentile
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
5.2.0-r0pacman +13 more
Description
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
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
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
pacmanAlpine:v3.11 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.12 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.13 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.14 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.15 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.16 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.17 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.18 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.19 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
pacmanAlpine:v3.20 | before 5.2.0-r0 | 5.2.0-r0 |
What each source reports
NVD Score used
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
- Record
CVE-2019-18183- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE ListNo score
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
- Record
CVE-2019-18183- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-7988No score
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
- Record
EUVD-2019-7988- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-66r9-jcx4-7f35No score
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the...
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
- Record
GHSA-66r9-jcx4-7f35- Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2019-18183
pacman before 5.2 is vulnerable to arbitrary command injection in lib/libalpm/sync.c in the apply_deltas() function. This can be exploited when unsigned databases are used. To exploit the vulnerability, the user must enable the non-default delta feature and retrieve an attacker-controlled crafted database and delta file.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2019-18183- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| affected, aliases, facts, references | OSV | |
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
References
git.archlinux.org/pacman.git/tree/lib/libalpm/sync.c?h=v5.1.3
github.com/alpinelinux/alpine-secdb/blob/master/v3.11/community.yaml
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/K53C45EDWBU3UCN3IRIGR5EZUNWXS7BW
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nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18183
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-18183