Brightstor Arcserve BackupApplication · Ca

CVE-2005-1018

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Buffer overflow in the UniversalAgent for Computer Associates (CA) BrightStor ARCserve Backup allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code via an agent request to TCP port 6050 with a large argument before the option field.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the UniversalAgent component of Computer Associates BrightStor ARCserve Backup. Remote authenticated attackers can send specially crafted agent requests to TCP port 6050 containing an oversized argument before the option field, causing either denial of service or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply available vendor patches for CA BrightStor ARCserve Backup, or upgrade to a supported version. If patching is not feasible, restrict network access to TCP port 6050 and limit exposure to trusted authenticated users only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Brightstor Arcserve BackupApplication
Affected:= 11.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify BrightStor ARCserve Backup installation
    Check for the presence of CA BrightStor ARCserve Backup by looking for installation directories (commonly C:\Program Files\CA\ARCserve Backup or C:\CA\ARCserve Backup), or by querying installed programs via registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\ComputerAssociates\BrightStor ARCserve Backup, or checking for the 'CAServer' and 'UniversalAgent' services via services.msc
    Affected if The software is installed and the version is 11.1 exactly, or falls within the 11.x family without confirmed patch application
  2. Confirm installed version number
    Locate the version information by checking the About dialog in the ARCserve Backup Manager, or by inspecting the file version of the main executable (typically caserver.exe or universala.exe) in the installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is 11.1 or an unpatched 11.x release
  3. Check if UniversalAgent service is running and listening
    Open a command prompt and run 'netstat -an | findstr 6050' to see if TCP port 6050 is in LISTENING state, or check the UniversalAgent service status via 'sc query UniversalAgent'
    Affected if Port 6050 is open and listening, indicating the vulnerable UniversalAgent component is active
  4. Assess network exposure
    Verify local firewall rules or network perimeter controls allowing inbound connections to port 6050 from untrusted sources by reviewing Windows Firewall settings (netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all) or external network access control lists
    Affected if Port 6050 is accessible from network segments containing untrusted or unauthenticated users

A user is affected if BrightStor ARCserve Backup version 11.1 is installed and the UniversalAgent service on TCP port 6050 is exposed to the network.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available vendor patches for CA BrightStor ARCserve Backup, or upgrade to a supported version. If patching is not feasible, restrict network access to TCP port 6050 and limit exposure to trusted authenticated users only.

Fix this in Brightstor Arcserve Backup Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-1018 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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