How severe is CVE-2018-16153?

CVE-2018-16153 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-16153?

CVE-2018-16153 affects the following packages: org.opencastproject:opencast-common (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2018-16153?

Update org.opencastproject:opencast-common to 10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-16153 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2018-16153 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2018-16153 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2018-16153 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2018-16153 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2018-16153?

CVE-2018-16153 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.8%, placing it in the 58th 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 indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-16153?

CVE-2018-16153 is classified as CWE-522 (CWE-522). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2018-16153 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-16153 was published on December 12, 2023 and was last updated on October 20, 2026. 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

HIGH severity

CVE-2018-16153 — opencast-common

HIGHFix: opencast/opencast@776d558

CVE-2018-16153 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-522 vulnerability in org.opencastproject:opencast-common. A fix is available for org.opencastproject:opencast-common — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Opencast publishes global system account credentials

Also known asGHSA-hcxx-mp6g-6gr9

Published

Dec 12, 2023

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 7, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2018-16153.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs58th percentile — riskier than 58% 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.opencastproject:opencast-common

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

The issue was mostly mitigated before, drastically reducing the risk. See references below for more information.

Impact

Opencast before version 10.6 will try to authenticate against any external services listed in a media package when it is trying to access the files, sending the global system user's credentials, regardless of the target being part of the Opencast cluster or not.

Previous mitigations already prevented clear text authentications for such requests (e.g. HTTP Basic authentication), but with enough malicious intent, even hashed credentials can be broken.

Patches

Opencast 10.6 will now send authentication requests only against servers which are part of the Opencast cluster, preventing external services from getting any form of authentication attempt in the first place.

Workarounds

No workaround available.

References

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in our issue tracker
Email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.opencastproject:opencast-common`	all versions	10.6`org.opencastproject:opencast-common:10.6`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

opencastapereo

≥ 4.0 && < 10.6

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.opencastproject:opencast-common, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.opencastproject:opencast-common to 10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-16153 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

The issue was mostly mitigated before, drastically reducing the risk. See references below for more information. ### Impact Opencast before version 10.6 will try to authenticate against any external services listed in a media package when it is trying to access the files, sending the global system user's credentials, regardless of the target being part of the Opencast cluster or not. Previous mitigations already prevented clear text authentications for such requests (e.g. HTTP Basic authentication), but with enough malicious intent, even hashed credentials can be broken. ### Patches Openc