dbcve.org
Icar 2 Wi Fi Obd2 FirmwareOperating system · Vgate

CVE-2018-11477

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-05-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An issue was discovered on Vgate iCar 2 Wi-Fi OBD2 Dongle devices. The data packets that are sent between the iOS or Android application and the OBD dongle are not encrypted. The combination of this vulnerability with the lack of wireless network protection exposes all transferred car data to the public.

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 · moderate confidence

The Vgate iCar 2 Wi-Fi OBD2 Dongle transmits vehicle diagnostic data without encryption between the mobile application and the hardware device. An unauthenticated attacker on the same Wi-Fi network can intercept all car data including potentially sensitive vehicle information, diagnostic codes, and real-time telemetry.

MitigationThe vendor must implement encryption (e.g., TLS) in the dongle firmware and mobile apps, and users should connect only over secured WPA2/WPA3 networks. Since this is a firmware-level issue, a hardware replacement or vendor-provided firmware update would be required.

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
Icar 2 Wi Fi Obd2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/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. Identify the OBD2 dongle model
    Physically inspect the OBD2 device connected to your vehicle or check the device packaging/ documentation for the model number. Look for 'Vgate iCar 2 Wi-Fi' or 'Vgate Icar 2' branding.
    Affected if The device is a Vgate iCar 2 Wi-Fi OBD2 dongle.
  2. Verify Wi-Fi connectivity method
    Check the Wi-Fi network your mobile device connects to when using the Vgate app. Note the network name (SSID) created by the dongle.
    Affected if You connect to an unencrypted Wi-Fi network broadcast by the dongle (open network with no password).
  3. Capture network traffic for encryption
    Use a network capture tool (such as Wireshark or a mobile packet capture app) on the same Wi-Fi network as the dongle. Capture traffic between the mobile app and the dongle's IP address. Inspect the protocol and payload data.
    Affected if Traffic is transmitted in plaintext (no TLS/SSL encryption) and vehicle data such as PIDs, diagnostic codes, or telemetry is visible in clear text.
  4. Check mobile app communication protocol
    Use a network proxy (such as Burp Suite or Charles Proxy) to intercept HTTP/HTTPS traffic from the Vgate mobile app to the dongle. Observe whether connections use unencrypted HTTP ports.
    Affected if The app communicates over unencrypted HTTP rather than HTTPS/TLS to the dongle.
  5. Confirm firmware version
    Connect to the dongle's Wi-Fi network and access its web interface (typically at 192.168.0.1 or similar) or use the mobile app to check the firmware version information.
    Affected if Any firmware version is installed, as all versions are affected per the CVE.

You are affected if you use a Vgate iCar 2 Wi-Fi OBD2 dongle, as all firmware versions transmit vehicle diagnostic data without encryption and an attacker on the same Wi-Fi network can intercept that data.

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

The vendor must implement encryption (e.g., TLS) in the dongle firmware and mobile apps, and users should connect only over secured WPA2/WPA3 networks. Since this is a firmware-level issue, a hardware replacement or vendor-provided firmware update would be required.

Fix this in Icar 2 Wi Fi Obd2 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation10.0 h
  • Implementation45.0 h
  • Testing20.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
83.0 hours of engineering $14,540
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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-2018-11477 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