CVE-2018-1448
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 · uneditedIBM DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1 (includes DB2 Connect Server) contains a vulnerability that could allow a local user to overwrite arbitrary files owned by the DB2 instance owner. IBM X-Force ID: 140043.
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 confidenceIBM DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability that allows an authenticated local user to overwrite arbitrary files owned by the DB2 instance owner due to improper permission handling in the DB2 server components.
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= 9.7= 10.1= 10.5= 11.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 installed DB2 versionRun 'db2level' command as the DB2 instance owner or use 'db2pd -version' from a DB2 client. Alternatively, query the DB2 database with: 'SELECT * FROM SYSIBM.SYSVERSIONS'Affected if The displayed version matches 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 exactly
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Verify DB2 instance is runningRun 'db2 list database directory' or 'db2pd -db' as the instance owner to confirm an active DB2 instanceAffected if A DB2 instance exists and is active on the system
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Check for non-privileged local users with DB2 accessReview OS user accounts that have login access to the DB2 server host and belong to the DB2 instance owner's group or have read access to DB2 directoriesAffected if There are local users other than the DB2 instance owner who have authenticated access to the DB2 environment
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Inspect DB2 directory permissionsList permissions on DB2 installation directories (typically under /opt/ibm or $HOME/sqllib) using 'ls -la' to see if other users have write accessAffected if Non-instance-owner users have write permissions to DB2 instance directories or configuration files
A system is affected if it runs DB2 version 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 AND has non-privileged local users with access to the DB2 environment who could exploit the improper permission handling to overwrite files owned by the DB2 instance owner.
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 the IBM DB2 patch for CVE-2018-1448 or upgrade to a version beyond 11.1 as specified in IBM's security bulletin. Restrict local non-privileged user access to the DB2 server environment as an interim control.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1448 — 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-2018-1448 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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