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Pagewriter Tc70 FirmwareOperating system · Philips

CVE-2018-14801

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-08-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
64/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Philips PageWriter TC10, TC20, TC30, TC50, TC70 Cardiographs, all versions prior to May 2018, an attacker with both the superuser password and physical access can enter the superuser password that can be used to access and modify all settings on the device, as well as allow the user to reset existing passwords.

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 confidence

This vulnerability in Philips PageWriter TC10, TC20, TC30, TC50, and TC70 cardiograph devices allows an attacker with both the superuser password and physical access to gain full administrative control of the device, enabling modification of all settings and resetting of existing user passwords. The issue affects all versions prior to May 2018 and requires both authentication credentials AND physical proximity to the device.

MitigationUpdate all affected PageWriter cardiograph devices to versions released May 2018 or later, change the superuser password from default credentials, and enforce physical access controls to prevent unauthorized local access.

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
Pagewriter Tc70 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pagewriter Tc50 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pagewriter Tc30 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pagewriter Tc20 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Pagewriter Tc10 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify PageWriter cardiograph devices on your network
    Check your device inventory or scan network for Philips PageWriter TC10, TC20, TC30, TC50, or TC70 devices. Access the device system information or check device labels to confirm the model number.
    Affected if Any Philips PageWriter TC10, TC20, TC30, TC50, or TC70 cardiograph device is found in your environment.
  2. Determine device firmware version
    On the device itself, navigate to the system settings or maintenance menu to view the firmware version. Alternatively, consult your biomedical engineering records or device management system for the installed firmware version.
    Affected if The firmware version was released before May 2018, or if the firmware version cannot be confirmed to be from May 2018 or later.
  3. Verify superuser password configuration
    Access the device using superuser credentials. Navigate to user management or security settings. Check whether the superuser password has been changed from the default manufacturer password.
    Affected if The superuser password remains at the default factory setting.
  4. Assess physical access controls
    Inspect the physical location where the PageWriter device is deployed. Determine whether the device is in a secured area with controlled access, or in a publicly accessible location.
    Affected if The device is located in an area with unrestricted physical access by unauthorized personnel.

Your environment is affected if you have any Philips PageWriter TC10, TC20, TC30, TC50, or TC70 devices with pre-May-2018 firmware that still have the default superuser password and are in physically accessible locations.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update all affected PageWriter cardiograph devices to versions released May 2018 or later, change the superuser password from default credentials, and enforce physical access controls to prevent unauthorized local access.

Fix this in Pagewriter Tc70 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-14801 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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