PatchTheCVECVE-2018-5710: An issue was discovered in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.16
CVE-2018-5710 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.5) affecting kerberos. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.
An issue was discovered in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.16. The pre-defined function "strlen" is getting a "NULL" string as a parameter value in plugins/kdb/ldap/libkdb_ldap/ldap_principal2.c in the Key Distribution Center (KDC), which allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via a modified kadmin client.
Why this priority
- No elevated risk signals yet
A fixed release or distro patch exists.
Risk facts
| CVSS score | 6.5 (Medium) |
| Attack vector | Network (remote) |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges needed | Low |
| User interaction | None |
| EPSS exploit chance | 1.8% (top 22%) |
| CISA exploited list | No |
| Weakness | CWE-476 |
| Published | 2018-01-16 |
| Last modified | 2026-06-17 |
Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score
Am I affected?
Timeline
- Published CVE record published
- Updated Record last modified
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.
Quick answers
How do I fix CVE-2018-5710?
kerberos: upgrade to newer than 5-1.16. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.
Is CVE-2018-5710 being exploited?
CVE-2018-5710 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.
What does CVE-2018-5710 affect?
CVE-2018-5710 affects kerberos. Severity is medium (CVSS 6.5). An issue was discovered in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.16. The pre-defined function "strlen" is getting a "NULL" string as a parameter value in plugins/kdb/ldap/libkdb_ldap/ldap_principal2.c in the Key Distribution Center (KDC), whi
How urgent is CVE-2018-5710?
Priority 42/100. No elevated risk signals yet.
Related CVEs
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- CVE-2018-5709 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE An issue was discovered in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) through 1.16
- CVE-2018-20217 MEDIUM 5.3 UPGRADE MITIGATE A Reachable Assertion issue was discovered in the KDC in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) before 1.17
- CVE-2017-11368 MEDIUM 6.5 MITIGATE DOWNGRADE In MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) 1.7 and later, an authenticated attacker can cause a KDC assertion failure by sen
- CVE-2014-5354 LOW 3.5 DOWNGRADE DOWNGRADE plugins/kdb/ldap/libkdb_ldap/ldap_principal2.c in MIT Kerberos 5 (aka krb5) 1.12.x and 1.13.x before 1.13.1, w