CVE-2018-5407: Simultaneous Multi-threading (SMT) in processors can enable local users to exploit software vulnerable to timing attacks via a side-channel timing attack on 'port contention'.
CSIRTS triage
- What
- Simultaneous Multi-threading in processors enables local users to exploit timing-attack vulnerabilities via side-channel port contention.
- Who is affected
- Systems with SMT-enabled processors running cryptographic software vulnerable to timing attacks are affected.
- Urgency
- Medium severity (CVSS 4.7); requires local access but affects widely-deployed crypto libraries.
- Action
- Disable SMT on affected systems or apply timing-attack mitigations in affected cryptographic libraries.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Details
Original advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2018-5407
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Moderate exploitation riskCVE-2018-54073.4% 30-day exploitation probability. Patch within normal cadence, watch for KEV listing. Riskier than 88% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-5407 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
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