CVE-2018-14647
HIGHEPSS 96th pctlDescription
Python's elementtree C accelerator failed to initialise Expat's hash salt during initialization. This could make it easy to conduct denial of service attacks against Expat by constructing an XML document that would cause pathological hash collisions in Expat's internal data structures, consuming large amounts CPU and RAM. The vulnerability exists in Python versions 3.7.0, 3.6.0 through 3.6.6, 3.5.0 through 3.5.6, 3.4.0 through 3.4.9, 2.7.0 through 2.7.15.
How to fix
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2019-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2021-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2019-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2021-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
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Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 96% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-335 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-12520 | High | 8.1 | 11% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-10180 | High | 7.5 | 4.4% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-27211 | High | 7.5 | 3.3% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-41117 | High | 8.7 | 3.1% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2017-11519 | Critical | 9.8 | 3.1% | - | - |
| CVE-2018-1426 | High | 7.4 | 2.4% | - | - |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2018-14647?
Published advisories record a fix for 29 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2018-14647 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2018-14647 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 10.9% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 96% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2018-14647?
CVE-2018-14647 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2018-14647 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for python3 (Amazon), python3-debug (Amazon), python3-debuginfo (Amazon), python3-devel (Amazon), and 25 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-06-17.