How severe is CVE-2018-20994?

CVE-2018-20994 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2018-20994 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (69th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-20994?

CVE-2018-20994 primarily affects Trust-dns-proto Project Trust-dns-proto. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-20994?

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

When was CVE-2018-20994 published?

CVE-2018-20994 was published on 2019-08-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-20994

CVE-2018-20994 is a high-severity vulnerability in Trust-dns-proto Project Trust-dns-proto with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. 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-674.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (69th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-674
Affected product: Trust-dns-proto Project Trust-dns-proto
Published: 2019-08-26
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in the trust-dns-proto crate before 0.5.0-alpha.3 for Rust. There is infinite recursion because DNS message compression is mishandled.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-20994?: An issue was discovered in the trust-dns-proto crate before 0.5.0-alpha.3 for Rust. There is infinite recursion because DNS message compression is mishandled.
How severe is CVE-2018-20994?: CVE-2018-20994 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2018-20994 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (69th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-20994?: CVE-2018-20994 primarily affects Trust-dns-proto Project Trust-dns-proto. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-20994?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2018-20994 published?: CVE-2018-20994 was published on 2019-08-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0007.html

Affected products (3)

cpe:2.3:a:trust-dns-proto_project:trust-dns-proto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:trust-dns-proto_project:trust-dns-proto:0.5.0:alpha.1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:trust-dns-proto_project:trust-dns-proto:0.5.0:alpha.2:*:*:*:*:*:*

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