CVE-2018-8088 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in org.slf4j:slf4j-ext. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 14.7% (97th percentile). A fix is available for org.slf4j:slf4j-ext — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Access Control in SLF4J
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
org.slf4j:slf4j-ext☕org.slf4j:slf4j-extReal-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
org.slf4j.ext.EventData in the slf4j-ext module in QOS.CH SLF4J before 1.8.0-beta4 allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via crafted data. EventData in the slf4j-ext module in QOS.CH SLF4J, has been fixed in SLF4J version 1.7.26 and later and in the 2.0.x series.
Note that while the fix commit is associated with the tag 1.8.0-beta3, the versions in Maven go directly from 1.8.0-beta2 to 1.8.0-beta4.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.slf4j:slf4j-ext | all versions | 1.7.26org.slf4j:slf4j-ext:1.7.26 |
| ☕Maven | org.slf4j:slf4j-ext | ≥ 1.8.0-alpha0&&< 1.8.0-beta4 | 1.8.0-beta4org.slf4j:slf4j-ext:1.8.0-beta4 |
Affected Products
goldengate application adaptersoraclegoldengate stream analyticsoracleutilities frameworkoracleslf4jqosenterprise linux desktopredhatenterprise linux eusredhatDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.slf4j:slf4j-ext, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.slf4j:slf4j-ext to 1.7.26 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-8088 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.
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.
Subscription Asset Manager is now in a reduced support phase receiving only Critical impact security fixes. This issue has been rated as having a security impact of Important, and is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. This issue did not affect the versions of Candlepin as shipped with Red Hat…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Data Grid | see advisory | RHSA-2018:1575 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | slf4j-0:1.7.4-4.el7_4 | RHSA-2018:0592 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.4.0 | slf4j | RHSA-2019:2413 |
| Red Hat JBoss BPMS 6.4 | slf4j | RHSA-2018:2419 |
| Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6.4 | slf4j | RHSA-2018:2420 |
| Red Hat JBoss BRMS 7.0 | see advisory | RHSA-2018:2143 |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6.4.8 | slf4j | RHSA-2019:3140 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7.1 | see advisory | RHSA-2018:0629 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-8088 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.