CVE-2018-1197
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 · uneditedIn Windows Stemcells versions prior to 1200.14, apps running inside containers in Windows on Google Cloud Platform are able to access the metadata endpoint. A malicious developer could use this access to gain privileged credentials.
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 confidenceWindows Stemcells versions before 1200.14 running on Google Cloud Platform had improper container isolation that allowed applications inside Windows containers to reach the GCP metadata endpoint (169.254.169.254). This endpoint exposes service account credentials and other sensitive metadata to any process that can access it, enabling a malicious developer to steal credentials and escalate privileges.
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< 1200.14CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 Windows Stemcell version in useRun 'bosh stemcells' or check the stemcell deployed via your BOSH director to retrieve the version number. On vSphere/vCloud, also check via the deployment manifest or VM properties.Affected if The stemcell version is below 1200.14 (e.g., 1200.13, 1200.12, etc.) and the deployment targets Google Cloud Platform.
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Verify deployment targets Google Cloud PlatformCheck your BOSH deployment manifest, director configuration, or cloud config to confirm the cloud type is 'gcp' or 'google'. Confirm Windows containers are deployed on GCP infrastructure.Affected if The deployment uses GCP as its IaaS provider for Windows workloads.
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Confirm Windows container network configuration allows metadata endpoint accessInspect the container network policies or BOSH job networking settings. Attempt a test from inside a Windows container: run 'curl 169.254.169.254' or 'Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 169.254.169.254 -Port 80' from within a running Windows container instance.Affected if The container can successfully reach 169.254.169.254 (HTTP response is received), indicating the metadata endpoint is accessible from inside the container.
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Check for credential exposure or unusual outbound metadata trafficReview GCP VPC flow logs, firewall logs, or audit logs for any traffic from container IPs to 169.254.169.254 on ports 80/443. Also audit any service account keys or tokens that may have been accessed.Affected if Logs show outbound traffic from container workloads to the metadata endpoint, suggesting the isolation gap was or is being exploited.
A defender is affected if they are running Windows Stemcells version below 1200.14 on GCP and their Windows containers can reach the 169.254.169.254 metadata endpoint, exposing service account credentials to containerized applications.
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 data1200.14
Update Windows Stemcells to version 1200.14 or later, which blocks container access to the metadata endpoint. Verify that legitimate applications are not dependent on metadata endpoint access.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1197 — 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-2018-1197 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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