What is CVE-2018-5704?

CVE-2018-5704 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Openocd Open On-Chip Debugger, classified under Use of Externally-Controlled Format String. CVSS score: 9.6/10. Published 2018-01-16.

How severe is CVE-2018-5704?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.6 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Openocd Open On-Chip Debugger

CVE-2018-5704

Open On-Chip Debugger (OpenOCD) 0.10.0 does not block attempts to use HTTP POST for sending data to 127.0.0.1 port 4444, which allows remote attackers to conduct cross-protocol scripting attacks, and consequently execute arbitrary commands, via a crafted web site.

Published 2018-01-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.6 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.046 (91.3th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 91st percentile — 91.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.046 · newest: 0.046 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Openocd Open On-Chip Debugger — versions 0.10.0
Debian Linux — versions 8.0, 9.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-134 — Use of Externally-Controlled Format String

References

sourceforge.net/p/openocd/mailman/message/36188041/ (Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4093 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/01/msg00027.html (mailing-list, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-5704?: CVE-2018-5704 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Openocd Open On-Chip Debugger, classified under Use of Externally-Controlled Format String. CVSS score: 9.6/10. Published 2018-01-16.
How severe is CVE-2018-5704?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.6 out of 10.