CVE-2018-1458
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 could allow a local user to execute arbitrary code and conduct DLL hijacking attacks. IBM X-Force ID: 140209.
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 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows contain a DLL hijacking vulnerability that allows a local authenticated user to execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious DLL in a location where DB2 will load it, potentially elevating privileges beyond those assigned.
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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 installed DB2 versionRun 'db2level' from the DB2 bin directory, or on Windows check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\IBM\DB2\InstalledCopies for the installed version stringAffected if The version listed is 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 (any of the affected versions)
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Verify DB2 instance is runningRun 'db2 list applications' or check DB2 service status via 'db2pd -db' to confirm an active DB2 instanceAffected if DB2 is actively running - the vulnerability requires DB2 to load a malicious DLL at runtime
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Identify DB2 executable and library directoriesRun 'db2 get dbm cfg | grep DIAGPATH' to find the DB2 diagnostic directory, and check the DB2 installation path (typically $DB2PATH or C:\Program Files\IBM\DB2) for executable locationsAffected if These directories contain DB2 binaries from which DLLs would be loaded
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Check write permissions on DB2 directoriesOn Windows, use icacls on the DB2 installation directory. On Linux/UNIX, use ls -la to check permissions on $DB2DIR/bin and $DB2DIR/lib directoriesAffected if Authenticated users without admin privileges can write files to DB2 directories where DLLs would be loaded (world-writable or writable by non-DB2 users)
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Review DB2 PATH configurationRun 'db2 get dbm cfg | grep PKG_PATH' to see configured package paths, and examine the system PATH variable for DB2 directoriesAffected if DB2 is configured to load DLLs from directories writable by non-privileged users
You are affected if you run any of DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 and your DB2 instance is running with writable directories where an authenticated user could place a malicious DLL.
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 security patch for CVE-2018-1458 from IBM Support. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict filesystem access to prevent placement of malicious DLLs in DB2 executable directories.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1458 — 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-2018-1458 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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