Joomla\!Application · Joomla
CVE-2018-11325
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Joomla! Core before 3.8.8. The web install application would autofill password fields after either a form validation error or navigating to a previous install step, and display the plaintext password for the administrator account at the confirmation screen.
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 confidenceThe Joomla! web installer before version 3.8.8 contained a vulnerability where password fields for the administrator account were autofilled after form validation errors or when navigating back to previous installation steps. The plaintext password was then displayed on the confirmation screen, exposing sensitive credentials in the user interface.
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
Joomla\!Application
< 3.8.8CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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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Check Joomla! core versionAccess the Joomla! administrator panel and navigate to Help > System Information, or inspect the file /libraries/cms.php or /libraries/src/Version.php to find the version stringAffected if The installed version is lower than 3.8.8 (for example, 3.8.7, 3.8.6, 3.8.0, or any 3.x version below 3.8.8)
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Verify installation methodDetermine whether the site was installed or reinstalled using the Joomla! web installer, which is the only installation method affected by this vulnerabilityAffected if The site was installed using the web-based installer and the version is below 3.8.8
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Confirm installer directory presenceCheck for the existence of the /installation directory at the Joomla! root. This directory is required for the web installer to runAffected if The /installation directory still exists and the Joomla! version is below 3.8.8, indicating the installer could potentially be re-run
The environment is affected if the installed Joomla! core version is below 3.8.8 and the web installer was used during initial setup or reinstallation.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.8.8
Upgrade Joomla! Core to version 3.8.8 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
Joomla! 3.8.8 or later
- Back up your current Joomla! installation and database before proceeding with any upgrade
- Download Joomla! 3.8.8 or a later stable release from the official Joomla! website (https://www.joomla.org)
- Upgrade your Joomla! installation using either the built-in Joomla! Update component or by performing a standard Joomla! upgrade procedure
- Verify the administrator account can log in successfully after the upgrade
- Confirm the installation process no longer displays plaintext passwords at any step
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Joomla\!
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-11325 — 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-2018-11325 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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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.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data