Use of uninitialized resource in NodeJS Node.js
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-908 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In all versions of Node.js 10 prior to 10.9.0, an argument processing flaw can cause `Buffer.alloc()` to return uninitialized memory. This method is intended to be safe and only return initialized, or cleared, memory. The third argument specifying `encoding` can be passed as a number, this is misinterpreted by `Buffer's` internal "fill" method as the `start` to a fill operation. This flaw may be abused where `Buffer.alloc()` arguments are derived from user input to return uncleared memory blocks that may contain sensitive information.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2018:2553 Released 2018-08-22 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes Node.js 10.9.0 security update
- Red Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes Node.js 10 npm-1:6.2.0-1.10.9.0.1.el7, rhoar-nodejs-1:10.9.0-1.el7, rhoar-nodejs-docs-1:10.9.0-1.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes Node.js 10 | Fixed | RHSA-2018:2553 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.4) | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.5) | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) | Fixed | — |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | — |
Not affected: 13 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Application Runtimes
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.10
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.2
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.3
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.5
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.6
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.7
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.9
- Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3.1
- Red Hat Software Collections
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-7166
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6v28-c2x2-8p46
- 2026-10-08 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-09 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
More NodeJS Node.js vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-79288 Out-of-bounds write in Google Brotli decoder KEVCVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.2
- TI-2023-23979 The HTTP/2 protocol allows a denial of service (server resource consumption) because… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2016-01993 The DES and Triple DES ciphers, as used in the TLS, SSH, and IPSec protocols and other… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2024-03325 Command injection vulnerability in programing languages on Microsoft Windows operating system. CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-03472 X.509 Email Address Variable Length Buffer Overflow CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2022-03315 X.509 Email Address 4-byte Buffer Overflow CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2018-7166 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-7166 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6v28-c2x2-8p46 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2018-7166 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences