How severe is CVE-2018-12533?

CVE-2018-12533 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-12533?

CVE-2018-12533 affects the following packages: org.richfaces:richfaces-core (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2018-12533?

The records we use list no patched version of org.richfaces:richfaces-core for CVE-2018-12533. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.

How do I detect CVE-2018-12533 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.richfaces:richfaces-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2018-12533 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2018-12533 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2018-12533, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2018-12533?

CVE-2018-12533 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 18.7%, placing it in the 97th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-12533?

CVE-2018-12533 is classified as Expression Language Injection (CWE-917). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2018-12533 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-12533 was published on May 13, 2022 and was last updated on November 8, 2023. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2018-12533 — richfaces-core

CRITICAL

CVE-2018-12533 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Expression Language Injection vulnerability in org.richfaces:richfaces-core. 3 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.

Arbitrary code execution in Richfaces

Published

May 13, 2022

Updated

Nov 8, 2023

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

3 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 5, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

18.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs97th percentile — riskier than 97% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕org.richfaces:richfaces-core

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

JBoss RichFaces 3.1.0 through 3.3.4 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to inject expression language (EL) expressions and execute arbitrary Java code via a /DATA/ substring in a path with an org.richfaces.renderkit.html.Paint2DResource$ImageData object, aka RF-14310.

Affected Packages

1 total

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.richfaces:richfaces-core`	≥ 3.1.0	No fix

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

richfacesredhat

≥ 3.1.0 && ≤ 3.3.4

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

JBoss RichFaces 3.1.0 through 3.3.4 allows unauthenticated remote attack…

github.comGithubDec 2018

Report on github.com

github.comGithubDec 2018

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.richfaces:richfaces-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of org.richfaces:richfaces-core for CVE-2018-12533. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatCritical

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5.2	`RichFaces`	RHSA-2018:2663
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5 for RHEL 5	`richfaces-0:3.3.1-7.SP3_patch_02.ep5.el5`	RHSA-2018:2664
Red Hat JBoss Operations Network 3.3	`RichFaces`	RHSA-2018:2930

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2018-12533 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-917Expression Language Injection

Weaponization

No Nuclei template or Metasploit module yet. 3 public proof-of-concept references are listed on this page.

Timeline

First exploit

Dec 15, 2018

Disclosed

May 13, 2022

Last updated

Nov 8, 2023

Identifiers

CVE-2018-12533

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2018 12533 Webaccess.redhat.com · RHSA 2018:2663 Webaccess.redhat.com · RHSA 2018:2664 Webaccess.redhat.com · RHSA 2018:2930 Webcodewhitesec.blogspot.com · poor richfaces Webseclists.org

Related vulnerabilities

Also affects richfaces-core

This CVE is critical severity, in line with the other 2 CVEs affecting richfaces-core.

CVE-2018-12532CVE-2018-14667

Same weakness: CWE-917

This CVE is critical severity — higher than any of the other 6 CVEs with CWE-917 (highest there: high).

CVE-2026-65591CVE-2026-57281CVE-2026-40985CVE-2026-41717CVE-2026-41729CVE-2026-41719Browse all CWE-917

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedNov 8, 2023

CVE-2018-12533 — richfaces-core

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Remediation status

Mitigate without a patch

Fixing This On Your OS

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2018-12533 in your dependencies?