dbcve.org
LacerteApplication · Intuit

CVE-2018-11338

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2017 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Intuit Lacerte 2017 for Windows in a client/server environment transfers the entire customer list in cleartext over SMB, which allows attackers to (1) obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network or (2) conduct man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks via unspecified vectors. The customer list contains each customer's full name, social security number (SSN), address, job title, phone number, Email address, spouse's phone/Email address, and other sensitive information. After the client software authenticates to the server database, the server sends the customer list. There is no need for further exploitation as all sensitive data is exposed. This vulnerability was validated on Intuit Lacerte 2017, however older versions of Lacerte may be vulnerable.

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

Intuit Lacerte 2017 transmits the complete customer database in cleartext over SMB after client authentication, exposing all PII (names, SSNs, addresses, phone numbers, emails) to network sniffing and MITM attacks. No encryption protects sensitive tax client data in transit.

MitigationContact Intuit for available patches; if unavailable, implement network-level protections such as SMB encryption, VPN tunnels, or network segmentation to protect the cleartext transmission of sensitive data.

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
LacerteApplication
Affected:<= 2017

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 Intuit Lacerte installation
    Check for Intuit Lacerte in the list of installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Intuit\Lacerte) for the executable file.
    Affected if Intuit Lacerte is installed and the version number shown is 2017 or earlier.
  2. Confirm Lacerte version number
    Right-click on the Lacerte executable (usually LX.exe or similar) in the installation folder, select Properties, and check the Version tab. Alternatively, launch Lacerte and check Help > About Lacerte for the version display.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2017 or any year prior to 2017.
  3. Identify Lacerte data directory and SMB sharing
    Locate the Lacerte data folder (commonly in C:\ProgramData\Intuit\Lacerte\Data or within the application directory). Check if this folder is shared via SMB by opening Computer Management > Shared Folders > Shares, or by running 'net share' in Command Prompt.
    Affected if The Lacerte data directory is shared via SMB (visible in shared folders list) and accessible over the network.
  4. Monitor SMB traffic during Lacerte operation
    Use a network packet capture tool (such as Wireshark) to capture network traffic on ports 445 (SMB over TCP) and 139 (NetBIOS) while accessing client data in Lacerte. Look for unencrypted data transmissions containing client names, SSNs, or other PII in plaintext.
    Affected if Cleartext data containing client PII (names, addresses, SSNs) is visible in SMB packets traveling over the network.
  5. Check SMB signing and encryption settings
    On the Lacerte server/workstation, run 'Get-SmbServerConfiguration' in PowerShell (Windows Server 2012+ / Windows 8+) to check if RequireSecuritySignature and EncryptData are enabled. Also check Group Policy settings under Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Options > Microsoft Network Client: Digitally sign communications.
    Affected if SMB encryption (EncryptData) is disabled and SMB signing is not required, allowing unencrypted database transmission.

The environment is affected if Intuit Lacerte version 2017 or earlier is installed and its client database folder is shared over SMB without encryption enabled.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2017
Interim mitigation

Contact Intuit for available patches; if unavailable, implement network-level protections such as SMB encryption, VPN tunnels, or network segmentation to protect the cleartext transmission of sensitive data.

Fix this in Lacerte Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2018-11338 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • 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