CVE-2018-14787
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 · uneditedIn Philips' IntelliSpace Cardiovascular (ISCV) products (ISCV Version 2.x or prior and Xcelera Version 4.1 or prior), an attacker with escalated privileges could access folders which contain executables where authenticated users have write permissions, and could then execute arbitrary code with local administrative permissions.
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 confidenceIn Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular (ISCV) and Xcelera products, an attacker with escalated privileges can access folders containing executables where authenticated users have write permissions, allowing execution of arbitrary code with local administrative permissions. This is a privilege escalation vulnerability enabling code execution through insecure file system permissions.
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<= 3.1<= 4.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/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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Identify installed Philips product versionCheck the installed version of Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular or Xcelera through the application interface, Windows Programs and Features, or system configuration files. Look for version information in the application's About or Help menu, or in the Windows registry under the product's installation keys.Affected if The installed version is Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular <= 3.1 or Philips Xcelera <= 4.1
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Confirm product is within affected version rangeCompare the identified version number against the known affected ranges. For ISCV, versions 3.1 and below are affected. For Xcelera, versions 4.1 and below are affected.Affected if The installed version falls at or below 3.1 for ISCV or at or below 4.1 for Xcelera
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Locate executable directoriesIdentify the installation directory for the Philips application. Common locations may include C:\Program Files\Philips\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Philips\. Navigate to subdirectories containing executable files (.exe).Affected if The application executables are located in directories under the Philips installation path
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Inspect file permissions on executable foldersRight-click on each directory containing executables, select Properties, then the Security tab. Click on Advanced. Check the permissions for Authenticated Users or standard user groups. Look for entries where the Type is Allow and the Permission includes Write or Modify for authenticated users.Affected if Authenticated Users or other non-admin groups have Write or Modify permissions to folders containing executable files
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Verify execution path vulnerabilityIf write permissions exist for authenticated users on executable directories, confirm whether an attacker could replace legitimate executables with malicious ones. Check if the directory allows creation of new files with .exe extensions.Affected if Authenticated users can create or modify executable files in directories used by the application
A system is affected if it runs Philips IntelliSpace Cardiovascular <= 3.1 or Xcelera <= 4.1 AND authenticated users have Write or Modify permissions to directories containing application executables.
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 Philips security patches for ISCV 2.x and Xcelera 4.1 or later versions, and review file system permissions on executable directories to remove write access for authenticated users.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14787 — 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-2018-14787 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data