How severe is CVE-2018-9234?

CVE-2018-9234 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 high, integrity none, and availability none.

Is CVE-2018-9234 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (79th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-9234?

CVE-2018-9234 primarily affects Gnupg. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-9234?

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-2018-9234 published?

CVE-2018-9234 was published on 2018-04-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-9234

CVE-2018-9234 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gnupg 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-320.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (79th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-320
Affected product: Gnupg
Published: 2018-04-04
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

GnuPG 2.2.4 and 2.2.5 does not enforce a configuration in which key certification requires an offline master Certify key, which results in apparently valid certifications that occurred only with access to a signing subkey.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-9234?: GnuPG 2.2.4 and 2.2.5 does not enforce a configuration in which key certification requires an offline master Certify key, which results in apparently valid certifications that occurred only with access to a signing subkey.
How severe is CVE-2018-9234?: CVE-2018-9234 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 high, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2018-9234 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (79th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-9234?: CVE-2018-9234 primarily affects Gnupg. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-9234?: 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-2018-9234 published?: CVE-2018-9234 was published on 2018-04-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (6)

cpe:2.3:a:gnupg:gnupg:2.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gnupg:gnupg:2.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Gnupg

CVE-2022-3515 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A vulnerability was found in the Libksba library due to an integer overflow within the CRL parser. The vulnerability…
CVE-2008-1530 — Critical (CVSS 9.3): GnuPG (gpg) 1.4.8 and 2.0.8 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary…
CVE-2018-1000858 — High (CVSS 8.8): GnuPG version 2.1.12 - 2.2.11 contains a Cross ite Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in dirmngr that can result in…
CVE-2026-24882 — High (CVSS 8.4): In GnuPG before 2.5.17, a stack-based buffer overflow exists in tpm2daemon during handling of the PKDECRYPT command for…
CVE-2026-24881 — High (CVSS 8.1): In GnuPG before 2.5.17, a crafted CMS (S/MIME) EnvelopedData message carrying an oversized wrapped session key can…
CVE-2010-2547 — High (CVSS 8.1): Use-after-free vulnerability in kbx/keybox-blob.c in GPGSM in GnuPG 2.x through 2.0.16 allows remote attackers to cause…

All CVEs affecting Gnupg →

Other CWE-320 vulnerabilities

CVE-2016-10467 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Automobile and Snapdragon Mobile SD…
CVE-2016-10421 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In Android before 2018-04-05 or earlier security patch level on Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile and Snapdragon Wear MDM9206,…
CVE-2018-0124 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A vulnerability in Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to…
CVE-2015-0936 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Ceragon FibeAir IP-10 have a default SSH public key in the authorized_keys file for the mateidu user, which allows…
CVE-2015-4166 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Cloudera Key Trustee Server before 5.4.3 does not store keys synchronously, which might allow attackers to have…
CVE-2024-36391 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): MileSight DeviceHub - CWE-320: Key Management Errors may allow Authentication Bypass and Man-In-The-Middle Traffic

Browse all CWE-320 vulnerabilities →