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CRITICAL severity

CVE-2018-6521 — simplesamlphp

CRITICAL

CVE-2018-6521 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp — see the affected versions and patch details below.

SimpleSAMLphp Use of insecure connection charset (sqlauth module)

Also known asGHSA-qv5p-6wrc-79wg
Published
Updated
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
1 known
Exploitation data as of Oct 30, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
3.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs88th percentile — riskier than 88% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%1.29%2.58%3.87%0.6%3.1%Apr 26Aug 26Oct 26

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
🐘simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp

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

Description

The sqlauth module in SimpleSAMLphp before 1.15.2 relies on the MySQL utf8 charset, which truncates queries upon encountering four-byte characters. There might be a scenario in which this allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐘Packagistsimplesamlphp/simplesamlphpall versions1.15.2composer require simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp:^1.15.2

Affected Products

2 products · 4 configurations
OS
debian linuxdebian
3 versions
7.08.09.0
Application
simplesamlphpsimplesamlphp
< 1.15.2
range
Exploits & PoCs
1

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

The sqlauth module in SimpleSAMLphp before 1.15.2 relies on the MySQL ut…

lists.debian.orgNVDOct 2019

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

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

  2. Fix

    Update simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp to 1.15.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-6521 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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 sqlauth module in SimpleSAMLphp before 1.15.2 relies on the MySQL utf8 charset, which truncates queries upon encountering four-byte characters. There might be a scenario in which this allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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CVE-2018-6521: simplesamlphp — Fixed in 1.15.2