keepalived 2.0.8 didn't check for pathnames with symlinks when writing data to a…
Priority LOW 22CWE-59Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
keepalived 2.0.8 didn't check for pathnames with symlinks when writing data to a temporary file upon a call to PrintData or PrintStats. This allowed local users to overwrite arbitrary files if fs.protected_symlinks is set to 0, as demonstrated by a symlink from /tmp/keepalived.data or /tmp/keepalived.stats to /etc/passwd.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00501 43rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Partial Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 2 fixed, 1 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:keepalived:keepalived:2.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0.8 | Vulnerable | Keepalived |
- cpe:2.3:a:keepalived:keepalived:2.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0.8 Vulnerable ·Keepalived
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2019:2285 Released 2019-08-06 · Red Hat rating Moderatekeepalived security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) keepalived-1.3.5-16.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) keepalived-1.3.5-16.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2019:2285 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2019:2285 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-19044
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2357-m5j6-6jv3
References
More Keepalived vulnerabilities
- TI-2018-13553 keepalived before 2.0.7 has a heap-based buffer overflow when parsing HTTP status codes… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-13499 keepalived 2.0.8 used mode 0666 when creating new temporary files upon a call to… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2021-19916 In Keepalived through 2.2.4, the D-Bus policy does not sufficiently restrict the message… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.4
- TI-2018-13500 keepalived 2.0.8 didn't check for existing plain files when writing data to a temporary… CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 4.7
- TI-2011-01563 The pidfile_write function in core/pidfile.c in keepalived 1.2.2 and earlier uses 0666… CVSS 2.0LOW 3.6
Sources
- CVE-2018-19044 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-19044 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2357-m5j6-6jv3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2018-19044 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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