CVE-2018-1231
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 · uneditedCloud Foundry BOSH CLI, versions prior to v3.0.1, contains an improper access control vulnerability. A user with access to an instance using the BOSH CLI can access the BOSH CLI configuration file and use its contents to perform authenticated requests to BOSH.
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 BOSH CLI prior to v3.0.1 does not properly restrict access to its configuration file, allowing any user with access to the instance to read the file containing authentication credentials. These credentials can then be used to make authenticated API requests to BOSH, effectively bypassing intended access controls and enabling privilege escalation.
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< 3.0.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 BOSH CLI versionRun 'bosh --version' or 'bosh -v' to retrieve the installed BOSH CLI version numberAffected if The version number is less than 3.0.1 (for example, 2.0.x, 1.x, or any pre-3.0.1 release)
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Locate BOSH CLI configuration fileCheck for the presence of a BOSH configuration file - common locations include ~/.bosh_config, ~/.bosh/config, or a .bosh_config file in the working directory. Also check for files referenced by the BOSH_CONFIG environment variableAffected if A BOSH CLI configuration file exists and is readable by your user account
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Verify file permissions on the configuration fileRun 'ls -la <config_file_path>' to inspect the file permissions. Look for permissions that allow reading by users other than the owner (such as 'rw-r--r--' or any permission with read bit set for group or others)Affected if The configuration file grants read access to users other than the owner (permissions include 'r--' for group or others, or are overly permissive like '777')
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Inspect configuration file contents for credentialsAttempt to read the configuration file with 'cat <config_file_path>' or view its contents to check for stored credentials such as API tokens, client secrets, or user passwordsAffected if The file contains authentication credentials (tokens, client_id/client_secret, username/password pairs) and is readable
You are affected if you are running BOSH CLI version less than 3.0.1 AND your configuration file is readable by users other than the owner, as this would allow credential theft and privilege escalation.
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 data3.0.1
Upgrade BOSH CLI to v3.0.1 or later. Additionally, enforce strict file permissions (0600 or stricter) on BOSH CLI configuration files to prevent unauthorized reading.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2018-1231 — 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-2018-1231 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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