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Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2018-1426

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-03-22
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
IBM GSKit (IBM DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1) duplicates the PRNG state across fork() system calls when multiple ICC instances are loaded which could result in duplicate Session IDs and a risk of duplicate key material. IBM X-Force ID: 139071.

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

IBM GSKit contains a vulnerability where the Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) state is duplicated across fork() system calls when multiple ICC (International Cryptography Framework) instances are loaded. This causes the PRNG to produce predictable or duplicate random values, resulting in duplicate Session IDs and potential reuse of cryptographic key material.

MitigationApply IBM's vendor patches for the affected DB2 versions (9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1) which update the GSKit library to address the PRNG state duplication. This is a code-level vulnerability requiring vendor-supplied fixes.

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
Db2Application
Affected:= 9.7= 10.1= 10.5= 11.1

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
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 DB2 installation
    Run 'db2level' or check for DB2 installation directories (typically under /opt/ibm/db2 or C:\Program Files\IBM\DB2)
    Affected if DB2 is not installed, the system is not affected by this CVE which specifically targets IBM DB2
  2. Check DB2 version
    Execute 'db2level' command and locate the version number in the output (e.g., 9.7.x, 10.1.x, 10.5.x, 11.1.x)
    Affected if The installed version matches 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 exactly - these are the vulnerable versions listed in the CVE
  3. Confirm GSKit usage in DB2
    Check if DB2 is using IBM GSKit for cryptographic operations - inspect DB2 configuration files or db2diag logs for references to ICC (International Cryptography Framework) or GSKit library loading
    Affected if DB2 instances load ICC cryptographic modules; the vulnerability manifests when multiple ICC instances are loaded and fork() is called, causing PRNG state duplication

A system is affected if it runs any of DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 and uses the ICC cryptographic framework where fork() operations occur (common in multi-process DB2 environments).

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

Apply IBM's vendor patches for the affected DB2 versions (9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1) which update the GSKit library to address the PRNG state duplication. This is a code-level vulnerability requiring vendor-supplied fixes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM DB2 11.1 with latest fixpak (or migrate to newer DB2 version if on 9.7/10.1 which may be near end-of-life)

  1. 1. Identify your current IBM DB2 version and fix pack level using: db2pd -version
  2. 2. Obtain the appropriate IBM DB2 interim fix (IF) for CVE-2018-1426 from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral)
  3. 3. Download the GSKit security interim fix specific to your DB2 version (9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1)
  4. 4. Stop all DB2 instances and dependencies: db2stop force
  5. 5. Apply the interim fix following IBM's installation instructions (typically via db2install or manual application of the fixpack)
  6. 6. Restart DB2 instances: db2start
  7. 7. Verify the fix is applied by checking GSKit version or confirming the security vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Interim fixes may require downtime; test in non-production environment first; older versions (9.7, 10.1) may be near end-of-life consider migration

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

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,260
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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-2018-1426 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