How severe is CVE-2018-17160?

CVE-2018-17160 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0, 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 high.

Is CVE-2018-17160 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-17160?

CVE-2018-17160 primarily affects Freebsd. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-17160?

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-2018-17160 published?

CVE-2018-17160 was published on 2018-12-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-17160

CVE-2018-17160 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Freebsd with a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0. 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-787.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 10.0)
CVSS v2: 10.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (87th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-787
Affected product: Freebsd
Published: 2018-12-04
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In FreeBSD before 11.2-STABLE(r341486) and 11.2-RELEASE-p6, insufficient bounds checking in one of the device models provided by bhyve can permit a guest operating system to overwrite memory in the bhyve host possibly permitting arbitrary code execution. A guest OS using a firmware image can cause the bhyve process to crash, or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host as root.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-17160?: In FreeBSD before 11.2-STABLE(r341486) and 11.2-RELEASE-p6, insufficient bounds checking in one of the device models provided by bhyve can permit a guest operating system to overwrite memory in the bhyve host possibly permitting arbitrary code execution. A guest OS using a firmware image can cause the bhyve process to crash, or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host as root.
How severe is CVE-2018-17160?: CVE-2018-17160 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 10.0, 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 high.
Is CVE-2018-17160 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-17160?: CVE-2018-17160 primarily affects Freebsd. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-17160?: 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-2018-17160 published?: CVE-2018-17160 was published on 2018-12-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:o:freebsd:freebsd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:freebsd:freebsd:11.2:p5:*:*:*:*:*:*

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