What is CVE-2018-14678?

CVE-2018-14678 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Initialization. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2018-07-28.

How severe is CVE-2018-14678?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2018-14678 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

CVE-2018-14678

An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 4.17.11, as used in Xen through 4.11.x. The xen_failsafe_callback entry point in arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S does not properly maintain RBX, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (uninitialized memory usage and system crash). Within Xen, 64-bit x86 PV Linux guest OS users can trigger a guest OS crash or possibly gain privileges.

Vulnerability class: Dirty Pipe (CVE-2022-0847)

Published 2018-07-28 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (32.6th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 33rd percentile — 32.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel
Xen
Canonical Ubuntu Linux — versions 14.04, 16.04, 18.04
Debian Linux — versions 8.0, 9.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-665 — Improper Initialization

Public proof-of-concept exploits

snic-nsc/cvechecker

References

www.securitytracker.com/id/1041397 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/10/msg00003.html (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-274.html (Patch, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/104924 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4308 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
usn.ubuntu.com/3931-1/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
usn.ubuntu.com/3931-2/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-14678?: CVE-2018-14678 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Initialization. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2018-07-28.
How severe is CVE-2018-14678?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-14678 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.