CVE-2018-1450
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 (includes DB2 Connect Server) 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1 contains a vulnerability that could allow a local user to overwrite arbitrary files owned by the DB2 instance owner. IBM X-Force ID: 140045.
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 confidenceIBM DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1 on Linux, UNIX, and Windows contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing an authenticated local user to overwrite arbitrary files owned by the DB2 instance owner, likely through improper permission handling in DB2 utilities or file operations.
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
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if IBM DB2 is installedOn Linux/UNIX: look for DB2 installation directories such as /opt/ibm/db2, /opt/IBM, or check for db2 related binaries in PATH using 'which db2' or 'which db2pd'. On Windows: check Program Files for IBM folder or DB2 installation directories.Affected if DB2 software is present on the system
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Determine installed DB2 versionRun the command 'db2level' (as the DB2 instance owner or with DB2 privileges) or 'db2pd -version' to retrieve the exact version number. On Windows, you can also check the installed programs list or the DB2 installation directory for version information.Affected if The version returned is 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1
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Verify DB2 instance configurationRun 'db2 list database directory' and 'db2 get dbm cfg' as the DB2 instance owner to confirm an active DB2 instance exists. The vulnerability affects the DB2 instance owner permissions.Affected if A DB2 instance is configured and running on the system
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Confirm local user access existsCheck system for local user accounts that could authenticate to DB2. Use 'db2 get authorizations' or review DB2 user mappings to identify which local or domain users have DB2 CONNECT or SYSADM privileges.Affected if Non-administrative local users have DB2 authentication or login access
You are affected if IBM DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 are installed and running with local user authentication enabled, allowing an authenticated local user to potentially escalate privileges via improper file permission handling.
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 CVE-2018-1450 and restrict local system access to trusted users only.
- 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-2018-1450 — 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-2018-1450 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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- 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
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