CVE-2018-1000167 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in suricata-update. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for suricata-update — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OISF suricata-update unsafely deserializes YAML data
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2018-1000167 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
suricata-updateReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
OISF suricata-update version 1.0.0a1 contains an Insecure Deserialization vulnerability in the insecure yaml.load-Function as used in the following files: config.py:136, config.py:142, sources.py:99 and sources.py:131. The "list-sources"-command is affected by this bug. that can result in Remote Code Execution(even as root if suricata-update is called by root). This attack appears to be exploitable via a specially crafted yaml-file at https://www.openinfosecfoundation.org/rules/index.yaml. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 1.0.0b1.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | suricata-update | all versions | 1.0.0b1pip install --upgrade 'suricata-update==1.0.0b1' |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for suricata-update, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update suricata-update to 1.0.0b1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-1000167 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2018-1000167 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2018-1000167. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-1000167 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2018-1000167 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.