CVE-2018-6196 · cross-distro fix matrix

CVE-2018-6196: w3m through 0.5.3 is prone to an infinite recursion flaw in HTMLlineproc0 because the feed_table_block_tag function in table.c does not prevent a negative indent value.

Affects 8 Linux releases across 8 (distro × package) combinations.

Fix per ecosystem

Each block below is a distro release where CVE-2018-6196 has a known fix. Run the listed command on that distro to remediate.

Debian bullseye

Source: Debian Security Tracker

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3-36urgency: low

sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y w3m

Debian bookworm

Source: Debian Security Tracker

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3-36urgency: low

sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y w3m

Debian trixie

Source: Debian Security Tracker

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3-36urgency: low

sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y w3m

Alpine v3.20

Source: Alpine secdb

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3.20180125-r0
```
apk update && apk add --upgrade w3m
```

Alpine v3.21

Source: Alpine secdb

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3.20180125-r0
```
apk update && apk add --upgrade w3m
```

Alpine edge

Source: Alpine secdb

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3_git20241203-r0
```
apk update && apk add --upgrade w3m
```

Alpine v3.18

Source: Alpine secdb

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3.20180125-r0
```
apk update && apk add --upgrade w3m
```

Alpine v3.19

Source: Alpine secdb

w3m→ fixed in0.5.3.20180125-r0
```
apk update && apk add --upgrade w3m
```

Are YOU affected by CVE-2018-6196?

5-second check on your actual server. Reads /etc/os-release, uname -r, and the distro's package manager; matches against this same cross-source index live.

curl https://mindsparkstack.com/scan.sh | bash

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Continuous monitoring beats manual checking

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