CVE-2018-10631
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 · uneditedThe 8840 Clinician Programmer executes the application program from the 8870 Application Card. An attacker with physical access to an 8870 Application Card and sufficient technical capability can modify the contents of this card, including the binary executables. If modified to bypass protection mechanisms, this malicious code will be run when the card is inserted into an 8840 Clinician Programmer.
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 confidencePhysical security vulnerability in the 8840 Clinician Programmer where an attacker with physical access to the 8870 Application Card and sufficient technical capability can modify the card's contents, including binary executables. When inserted into the programmer, modified cards with bypassed protection mechanisms execute malicious code.
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 dataall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the device modelLocate the model number label on the Clinician Programmer device or Application Card - look for 'N'vision 8840' or 'N'vision 8870' markingsAffected if The device is a Medtronic N'vision 8840 Clinician Programmer or 8870 Application Card
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Check firmware version on the programmerAccess the device's system information or settings menu to view the installed firmware version, or connect to the device and run a diagnostic command to retrieve the firmware build numberAffected if Any firmware version is present (all versions of N'vision 8840 and 8870 are affected)
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Inspect Application Card for physical tamperingVisually examine the 8870 Application Card for signs of modification, including unusual scratches near chip contacts, modified solder points, or evidence of the protective enclosure being openedAffected if Physical tampering indicators are present on the Application Card
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Verify cryptographic signing is implementedCheck the device configuration or system logs for evidence of secure boot validation, code signing verification, or cryptographic authentication of Application Card binaries - look for related settings in the programmer's administration or security menusAffected if Cryptographic signing and verification of Application Card binaries is NOT implemented or is disabled
A user is affected if they have a Medtronic N'vision 8840 or 8870 device and the system does not implement cryptographic verification of Application Card binaries, especially if the Application Card shows signs of physical tampering.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataImplement cryptographic signing and verification of Application Card binaries with secure boot validation to ensure only authenticated code executes, combined with tamper-detection mechanisms on the card hardware.
- Consultation12.0 h
- Implementation60.0 h
- Testing24.0 h
- Review / QA16.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $31,488.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10631 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-10631 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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