CVE-2018-17419 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in github.com/miekg/dns. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for github.com/miekg/dns — see the affected versions and patch details below.
miekg/dns parsing error leads to nil pointer dereference and DoS
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2018-17419 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/miekg/dnsReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
An issue was discovered in setTA in scan_rr.go in the Miek Gieben DNS library before 1.0.10 for Go. A dns.ParseZone() parsing error causes a segmentation violation, leading to denial of service.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/miekg/dns | all versions | 1.0.10go get github.com/miekg/dns@v1.0.10 |
Affected Products
dns librarydns_library_projectResearch 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 github.com/miekg/dns, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/miekg/dns to 1.0.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-17419 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
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.
The opportunity for a denial of service is limited to the golang runtime. In the case of the OpenShift Container Platform, this would be restricted within each individual container. There are multiple layers of guide rails (Golang’s Garbage Collector; OpenShift’s resource constraints imposed at the container and…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2018-17419 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.10 | openshift4/ose-kube-proxy:v4.10.0-202305261541.p0.g15f00b7.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:3363 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.11 | openshift4/ose-kube-proxy:v4.11.0-202305240155.p0.g3018862.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:3309 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.12 | openshift4/ose-kube-proxy:v4.12.0-202305212342.p0.gd4b6594.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:3287 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13 | openshift4/ose-kube-proxy:v4.13.0-202305180130.p0.gd56dc6a.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:3304 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.14 | openshift4/ose-sdn-rhel8:v4.14.0-202310201027.p0.g128c28c.assembly.stream | RHSA-2023:5006 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-17419 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.