CVE-2020-18898Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Process crash via recursive IFD structure printing

Published Aug 19, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Uncontrolled recursion in Exiv2 0.27 allows remote attackers to crash a debug build by supplying a crafted file for structure printing. The printIFDStructure routine repeatedly calls itself while processing crafted IFD structure data until the process stack is exhausted. The flaw is reached when a user or application invokes recursive structure printing on the file; Ubuntu reports that only debug builds expose this path, and the observed result is a process crash.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.43%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled recursion in Exiv2 0.27 allows remote attackers to crash a debug build by supplying a crafted file for structure printing. The printIFDStructure routine repeatedly calls itself while processing crafted IFD structure data until the process stack is exhausted. The flaw is reached when a user or application invokes recursive structure printing on the file; Ubuntu reports that only debug builds expose this path, and the observed result is a process crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-18898
Published
Aug 19, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-674, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 19, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation DoS

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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