How severe is CVE-2018-20356?

CVE-2018-20356 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, 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-2018-20356 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (88th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-20356?

CVE-2018-20356 affects Cesanta Mongoose. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-20356?

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-2018-20356 published?

CVE-2018-20356 was published on 2019-06-10 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-20356

CVE-2018-20356 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Cesanta Mongoose with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-416.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 4% (88th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Cesanta Mongoose
Published: 2019-06-10
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An invalid read of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in mongoose.c in Cesanta Mongoose Embedded Web Server Library 6.13 and earlier allows a denial of service (application crash) or remote code execution.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-20356?: An invalid read of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in mongoose.c in Cesanta Mongoose Embedded Web Server Library 6.13 and earlier allows a denial of service (application crash) or remote code execution.
How severe is CVE-2018-20356?: CVE-2018-20356 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, 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-2018-20356 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (88th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-20356?: CVE-2018-20356 affects Cesanta Mongoose. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-20356?: 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-2018-20356 published?: CVE-2018-20356 was published on 2019-06-10 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://github.com/insi2304/mongoose-6.13-fuzz/blob/master/Simplest_Web_Server_Use_After_Free-read_mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi.png

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:cesanta:mongoose:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Cesanta Mongoose

CVE-2022-25299 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): This affects the package cesanta/mongoose before 7.6. The unsafe handling of file names during upload using…
CVE-2020-25756 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the mg_get_http_header function in Cesanta Mongoose 6.18 due to a lack of…
CVE-2019-19307 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An integer overflow in parse_mqtt in mongoose.c in Cesanta Mongoose 6.16 allows an attacker to achieve remote DoS…
CVE-2019-12951 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in Mongoose before 6.15. The parse_mqtt() function in mg_mqtt.c has a critical heap-based…
CVE-2018-20355 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An invalid write of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability in the mg_http_free_proto_data_cgi function call in…
CVE-2018-20354 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An invalid read of 8 bytes due to a use-after-free vulnerability during a "return" in the mg_http_get_proto_data…

All CVEs affecting Cesanta Mongoose →

Other CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-13782 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Use after free in Browser in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the…
CVE-2026-4725 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Graphics: Canvas2D component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox 149…
CVE-2026-4688 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to use-after-free in the Disability Access APIs component. This vulnerability was fixed in Firefox…
CVE-2025-24085 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3,…
CVE-2024-43102 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Concurrent removals of certain anonymous shared memory mappings by using the UMTX_SHM_DESTROY sub-request of…
CVE-2021-32495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Radare2 has a use-after-free vulnerability in pyc parser's get_none_object function. Attacker can read freed memory…

Browse all CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities →