How severe is CVE-2018-16115?

CVE-2018-16115 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.

Is CVE-2018-16115 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-16115?

CVE-2018-16115 affects Lightbend Akka. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-16115?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2018-16115 published?

CVE-2018-16115 was published on 2018-08-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-16115

CVE-2018-16115 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Lightbend Akka with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-338.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.1)
CVSS v2: 6.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (64th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-338
Affected product: Lightbend Akka
Published: 2018-08-29
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Lightbend Akka 2.5.x before 2.5.16 allows message disclosure and modification because of an RNG error. A random number generator is used in Akka Remoting for TLS (both classic and Artery Remoting). Akka allows configuration of custom random number generators. For historical reasons, Akka included the AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG random number generators. The implementations had a bug that caused the generated numbers to be repeated after only a few bytes. The custom RNG implementations were not configured by default but examples in the documentation showed (and therefore implicitly recommended) using the custom ones. This can be used by an attacker to compromise the communication if these random number generators are enabled in configuration. It would be possible to eavesdrop, replay, or modify the messages sent with Akka Remoting/Cluster.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16115?: Lightbend Akka 2.5.x before 2.5.16 allows message disclosure and modification because of an RNG error. A random number generator is used in Akka Remoting for TLS (both classic and Artery Remoting). Akka allows configuration of custom random number generators. For historical reasons, Akka included the AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG random number generators. The implementations had a bug that caused the generated numbers to be repeated after only a few bytes. The custom RNG implementations were not configured by default but examples in the documentation showed (and therefore implicitly recommended) using the custom ones. This can be used by an attacker to compromise the communication if these random number generators are enabled in configuration. It would be possible to eavesdrop, replay, or modify the messages sent with Akka Remoting/Cluster.
How severe is CVE-2018-16115?: CVE-2018-16115 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2018-16115 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (64th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-16115?: CVE-2018-16115 affects Lightbend Akka. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-16115?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2018-16115 published?: CVE-2018-16115 was published on 2018-08-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/current/security/2018-08-29-aes-rng.html

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:lightbend:akka:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Other CWE-338 vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-56141 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In JetBrains Hub before 2026.1.13757, 2025.3.148033, 2025.2.148048, 2025.1.148120, 2024.3.148430, 2024.2.148429 account…
CVE-2026-3256 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): HTTP::Session versions before 0.54 for Perl defaults to using insecurely generated session ids. HTTP::Session defaults…
CVE-2025-15604 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Amon2 versions before 6.17 for Perl use an insecure random_string implementation for security functions. In versions…
CVE-2025-40926 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Plack::Middleware::Session::Simple versions before 0.05 for Perl generates session ids insecurely. The default session…
CVE-2026-2439 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Concierge::Sessions versions from 0.8.1 before 0.8.5 for Perl generate insecure session ids. The generate_session_id…
CVE-2025-15578 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Maypole versions from 2.10 through 2.13 for Perl generates session ids insecurely. The session id is seeded with the…

Browse all CWE-338 vulnerabilities →