CVE-2018-20452

HIGH

The read_MSAT_body function in ole.c in libxls 1.4.0 has an invalid free that allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a craft...

Affects 1 product across 1 vendor.

CVSS 3.08.8
EPSS1.5%
Percentile74th
PatchUnknown
CVSS Vector — Plain English Remotely exploitable over the network, low complexity, no authentication required, requires user interaction, impact contained to the vulnerable component, full confidentiality impact, full integrity impact, full availability impact.
CWE Weakness Definitions
CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Buffer

Parent class for buffer-related vulnerabilities where operations exceed buffer boundaries.

Related Attack Patterns (CAPEC)
CAPEC-8 Buffer Overflow in an API Call
via CWE-119
CAPEC-9 Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities
via CWE-119
CAPEC-10 Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables
via CWE-119
CAPEC-14 Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow
via CWE-119
CAPEC-24 Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow
via CWE-119
Show all 12

Mapping is CWE-to-CAPEC per MITRE CAPEC 3.9.

◆ AI Analysis — automated analysis, not human-reviewed

This vulnerability was disclosed in 2018. A high severity vulnerability affects Libxls Project systems (CVE-2018-20452). No public exploit code is currently available. Isolate affected systems if patching is not feasible.

BSID: BS-2018-GLOBAL-128401-H • Model: rule-based-v1 • Confidence: MEDIUM

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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2018-20452?
This vulnerability was disclosed in 2018. A high severity vulnerability affects Libxls Project systems (CVE-2018-20452). No public exploit code is currently available. Isolate affected systems if patching is not feasible.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-20452?
CVE-2018-20452 has CVSS 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS: 1.5%.
Is CVE-2018-20452 actively exploited?
No confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2018-20452 as of 2026-09-25.
How do I remediate CVE-2018-20452?
Priority: MEDIUM.
What systems are affected by CVE-2018-20452?
CVE-2018-20452 affects Libxls Project Libxls.
Vulnerability Details
CVE IDCVE-2018-20452
BSIDBS-2018-GLOBAL-128401-H BreachSpider Global ID
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published2018-12-25
Last Modified2026-06-17
ICS Relevance15%
Weakness (CWE)
Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Buffer
SourceNVD
Official Description

The read_MSAT_body function in ole.c in libxls 1.4.0 has an invalid free that allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file, because of inconsistent memory management (new versus free) in ole2_read_header in ole.c.

Source: NIST NVD / MITRE CVE Database

Attack Vector Analysis — CITED Relevance

Vulnerability details: The read_MSAT_body function in ole.c in libxls 1.4.0 has an invalid free that allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file, because of inconsistent memory management (new versus free) in ole2_read_header in ole.c. CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Exploitation Likelihood: MINIMAL

Affected Products
VendorProductAffected Versions
Libxls Project Libxls 1.4.0
Remediation

No official vendor advisory link on record. See the CVE record →

Threat Intelligence
● Threat Intelligence Validated: October 2026 | Threat Age: 2851 Days
CISA known-exploitedNot in KEV catalog
Public ExploitNot confirmed
PoC CodeNot confirmed
AI Enrichment Record — provenance & audit hash
Modelrule-based-v1
ConfidenceMEDIUM
Enriched At2026-05-24
SHA-512 Audit Hash702bcddf292f8b74991a76033af5bbd6fd7ab576dc22f5e49e9d7c76d418a748ff41308d0f48f7ff6cd55e0b1c0432e06961b37363e06097ebe9021b4ab832be
Related CVEs affecting Libxls Project
CVE-2017-2910 8.8 An exploitable Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability exists in the xls_addCell fu... CVE-2017-12109 8.8 An exploitable integer overflow vulnerability exists in the xls_preparseWorkS... CVE-2017-12108 8.8 An exploitable integer overflow vulnerability exists in the xls_preparseWorkS... CVE-2017-2896 7.8 An exploitable out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the xls_mergedCell... CVE-2017-2919 7.8 An exploitable stack based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the xls_ge...
View all Libxls Project CVEs →

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