CVE-2018-7602: Drupal Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Should you act?

High exploit likelihood

EPSS ranks it in the top 5% of all CVEs for likely exploitation in the next 30 days. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV yet, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records active exploitation. Treat it as exploited.
• EPSS 99.2%, percentile 99.9: FIRST’s model estimates a 99.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes drupal/core (Composer (PHP)) >= 7.0, < 7.59, fixed in 7.59; drupal/core (Composer (PHP)) >= 8.0, < 8.4.8, fixed in 8.4.8; drupal/core (Composer (PHP)) >= 8.5, < 8.5.3, fixed in 8.5.3; drupal/drupal (Composer (PHP)) >= 7.0, < 7.59, fixed in 7.59. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

A remote code execution vulnerability exists within multiple subsystems of Drupal 7.x and 8.x. This potentially allows attackers to exploit multiple attack vectors on a Drupal site, which could result in the site being compromised. This vulnerability is related to Drupal core - Highly critical - Remote Code Execution - SA-CORE-2018-002. Both SA-CORE-2018-002 and this vulnerability are being exploited in the wild.

From the GitHub advisory

A remote code execution vulnerability exists within multiple subsystems of Drupal 7.x and 8.x. This potentially allows attackers to exploit multiple attack vectors on a Drupal site, which could result in the site being compromised. This vulnerability is related to Drupal core - Highly critical - Remote Code Execution - SA-CORE-2018-002. Both SA-CORE-2018-002 and this vulnerability are being exploited in the wild.

Weakness type: CWE-94.

Product: drupal/core (Composer (PHP)) · Assigned by: drupal · Published: 2018-07-19

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: high (needs special conditions)
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 99.17% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 99.9.

Timeline

• 2018-07-19 — CVE record published by drupal
• 2024-04-23 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-297x-j9pm-xjgg published (critical)
• 2026-10-01 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vendor and project advisories, patches

1. DSA-4180 debian.org

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-297x-j9pm-xjgg github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2018-7602 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2018-7602 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. 44557 exploit-db.com
2. 1040754 securitytracker.com
3. [debian-lts-announce] 20180426 [SECURITY] [DLA 1365-1] drupal7 security update lists.debian.org
4. 44542 exploit-db.com
5. drupal.org drupal.org
6. 103985 securityfocus.com
7. cisa.gov cisa.gov
8. github.com github.com
9. github.com github.com

Critical Composer (PHP) advisories · Today’s Security Digest