CVE-2018-19211 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in ncurses 6.1 can lead to a denial of service attack.

Understanding CVE-2018-19211

This CVE involves a vulnerability in the parse_entry.c file within ncurses 6.1 that could potentially result in a denial of service attack.

What is CVE-2018-19211?

The presence of a NULL pointer dereference in the parse_entry.c file within ncurses 6.1 poses a potential risk for a denial of service attack. Despite the detection of a "dubious character `*' in name or alias field," the product still continues execution along the dereference code path.

The Impact of CVE-2018-19211

The vulnerability can be exploited to cause a denial of service, disrupting the normal operation of the affected system.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-19211

This section provides more technical insights into the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

In ncurses 6.1, there is a NULL pointer dereference at function _nc_parse_entry in parse_entry.c that will lead to a denial of service attack. The product proceeds to the dereference code path even after a "dubious character `*' in name or alias field" detection.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: n/a
Vendor: n/a
Version: n/a

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to trigger the NULL pointer dereference, leading to a denial of service condition.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2018-19211 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Apply vendor patches or updates as soon as they are available.
Monitor security advisories for any new information or mitigation strategies.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update and patch software to address known vulnerabilities.
Implement strong access controls and network segmentation to limit the impact of potential attacks.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that the affected software, in this case, ncurses 6.1, is updated with the latest patches provided by the vendor.