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SatelliteApplication · Redhat

CVE-2018-12549

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-02-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
In Eclipse OpenJ9 version 0.11.0, the OpenJ9 JIT compiler may incorrectly omit a null check on the receiver object of an Unsafe call when accelerating it.

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

In Eclipse OpenJ9 0.11.0, the JIT compiler optimization may incorrectly omit a null check on the receiver object of an Unsafe call when accelerating it. This could lead to a null pointer dereference or potentially allow arbitrary code execution if the attacker can control the null reference.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Eclipse OpenJ9 beyond 0.11.0 that includes the fix for the JIT compiler null check omission.

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
SatelliteApplication
Affected:= 5.8
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Openj9Application
Affected:= 0.11.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the JVM vendor and version
    Run 'java -version' or check the JRE/JDK installation directory for version info. Look for 'Eclipse OpenJ9' or 'IBM J9' in the output.
    Affected if The output shows Eclipse OpenJ9 version 0.11.0 specifically.
  2. Confirm JIT compiler is enabled
    Check JVM startup logs or run with -Xlog:jit* (or -Xjit:verbose for older versions) to see if JIT compilation is active. JIT is enabled by default in OpenJ9.
    Affected if JIT compiler is enabled (this is the default and typical state).
  3. Detect usage of sun.misc.Unsafe in deployed code
    Search application codebases and dependencies for imports or usage of 'sun.misc.Unsafe' or 'jdk.internal.misc.Unsafe', or use runtime analysis with -XX:+PrintClassLoading (if available) to trace Unsafe class loading.
    Affected if The application or its dependencies use the Unsafe API, enabling the flawed JIT optimization path.
  4. Review runtime environment for vulnerable configuration
    Check if the system is running a Red Hat product (Satellite 5.8 or RHEL 6.0/7.0) that bundles the vulnerable OpenJ9 0.11.0 version. Use 'rpm -qa | grep -i openj9' or check installed packages.
    Affected if Red Hat Satellite 5.8 or RHEL 6.0/7.0 with OpenJ9 0.11.0 is installed and running.

You are affected if your environment runs Eclipse OpenJ9 version 0.11.0 (or a Red Hat system bundling that version) with the JIT compiler enabled and your application uses the Unsafe API.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of Eclipse OpenJ9 beyond 0.11.0 that includes the fix for the JIT compiler null check omission.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenJ9 0.12.0 or later (or equivalent Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenJDK update containing the JIT compiler fix)

  1. Upgrade Eclipse OpenJ9 from version 0.11.0 to version 0.12.0 or later to address the JIT compiler null check omission vulnerability.
  2. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, apply updates via: yum update java-11-openjdk or yum update java-8-openjdk (depending on Java version in use)
  3. For Red Hat Satellite managed systems, synchronize and push the updated packages to affected clients
  4. Restart any Java applications or services using the updated JRE/JDK to ensure the patched JVM is loaded
  5. Verify the new version is running: java -version (should show version higher than 0.11.0)
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a bug fix in the JIT compiler; however, always test application compatibility with new JVM versions in a non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Satellite Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,580
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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-2018-12549 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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