CVE-2018-1431
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in GSKit affects IBM Spectrum Scale 4.1.1, 4.2.0, 4.2.1, 4.2.3, and 5.0.0 that could allow a local attacker to obtain control of the Spectrum Scale daemon and to access and modify files in the Spectrum Scale file system, and possibly to obtain administrator privileges on the node. IBM X-Force ID: 139240.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in GSKit (IBM Global Security Kit) affects IBM Spectrum Scale versions 4.1.1 through 5.0.0. The flaw allows a local attacker to obtain control of the Spectrum Scale daemon, enabling access and modification of files in the Spectrum Scale file system, potentially leading to full administrator/root privileges on the affected node.
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>= 4.1.0.0, <= 4.1.0.8>= 4.1.1.0, <= 4.1.1.19>= 4.2.0.0, <= 4.2.0.4>= 4.2.1.0, <= 4.2.1.2>= 4.2.2.0, <= 4.2.2.3>= 4.2.3.0, <= 4.2.3.8>= 5.0.0.0, <= 5.0.0.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 if IBM Spectrum Scale or GPFS is installedRun 'mmversion' or check for the presence of /usr/lpp/-spectrumscale (Spectrum Scale) or /usr/lpp/gpfs (GPFS) directoriesAffected if Neither Spectrum Scale nor GPFS is installed on the system
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Determine the installed Spectrum Scale versionExecute 'mmversion -a' or check installed RPMs with 'rpm -qa | grep -i spectrumscale'Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 4.1.1.0 to 4.1.1.19, 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.0.4, 4.2.1.0 to 4.2.1.2, 4.2.2.0 to 4.2.2.3, 4.2.3.0 to 4.2.3.8, or 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.0.2
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Determine the installed GPFS version (if GPFS rather than Spectrum Scale)Execute 'mmversion -a' or check installed RPMs with 'rpm -qa | grep -i gpfs'Affected if The installed version falls within the range 4.1.0.0 to 4.1.0.8
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Verify the Spectrum Scale daemon is activeRun 'mmgetstate -a' or check for running 'mmfsd' processesAffected if The Spectrum Scale daemon is running and the version is in any of the affected ranges listed above
The system is affected if it runs IBM Spectrum Scale version 4.1.1.0 through 5.0.0.2 or GPFS version 4.1.0.0 through 4.1.0.8, with the Spectrum Scale/GPFS daemon actively using the vulnerable GSKit component.
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 dataApply IBM's security patches for this GSKit vulnerability to affected Spectrum Scale installations, or upgrade to a patched version. This is a local privilege escalation issue requiring existing shell access, so prioritize patching systems with exposure to untrusted local users.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1431 — 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-2018-1431 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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