wget: Information exposure in set_file_metadata function in xattr.c
Published Dec 26, 2018
7.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 0.66%
Description
set_file_metadata in xattr.c in GNU Wget before 1.20.1 stores a file's origin URL in the user.xdg.origin.url metadata attribute of the extended attributes of the downloaded file, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information (e.g., credentials contained in the URL) by reading this attribute, as demonstrated by getfattr. This also applies to Referer information in the user.xdg.referrer.url metadata attribute. According to 2016-07-22 in the Wget ChangeLog, user.xdg.origin.url was partially based on the behavior of fwrite_xattr in tool_xattr.c in curl.
Affected products
No data.
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
curl-0:7.61.1-11.el8
Fixed · RHSA-2019:3701
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
curl
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
wget
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
curl
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
wget
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
curl
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
wget
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
wget
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | curl-0:7.61.1-11.el8 | Fixed | RHSA-2019:3701 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | curl | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | wget | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | curl | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | wget | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | curl | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | wget | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | wget | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat mitigation
wget users should pass credentials using the "--user/password" or the "--user/--ask-password" command line argument to wget or use --no-xattr to turn off saving extended attribute information. In curl downloading extended attributes is disabled by default.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 3, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Table of values (8 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | 0.66% (0.00659) | 49.78th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 0.66% (0.00659) | 50.08th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 41.69th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.03% (0.01034) | 20.32th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 0.89% (0.00888) | 25.41th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 0.89% (0.00888) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (11)
- http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/wget.git/tree/NEWS x_refsource_MISCRelease NotesThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106358 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3701 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-20483 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1662705 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20483
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-08 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190321-0002/ x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1077676739877232640 x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party Advisory
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3943-1/ vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20483
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/wget.git/tree/NEWS | x_refsource_MISCRelease NotesThird Party Advisory | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106358 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3701 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-20483 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1662705 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20483 | ||
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201903-08 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory | |
| https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190321-0002/ | x_refsource_CONFIRM | |
| https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1077676739877232640 | x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party Advisory | |
| https://usn.ubuntu.com/3943-1/ | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU | |
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-20483 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.