CVE-2018-1546
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 API Connect 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.3 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information using man in the middle techniques. IBM X-Force ID: 142650.
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 API Connect versions 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.3 fails to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), allowing a man-in-the-middle attacker to downgrade HTTPS connections to HTTP and intercept sensitive information such as session tokens or authentication credentials.
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>= 5.0.0.0, <= 5.0.8.3CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Determine IBM API Connect versionLocate the installed version of IBM API Connect. This is typically accessible through the API Connect management console, command line interface, or version info file. Common methods include using the 'apic' CLI tool with 'apic --version' or checking the product information in the management UI.Affected if The version falls within 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.3
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Inspect HSTS response headersSend HTTPS requests to the API Connect endpoints and examine the response headers. Use browser developer tools, curl with -I flag, or a network capture tool to view the Strict-Transport-Security header in the server responses.Affected if The Strict-Transport-Security header is missing or not present in HTTPS responses
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Verify HSTS configuration in web server or load balancerExamine the configuration files or settings of the web server or load balancer fronting API Connect. Check for HSTS directives in the server configuration that would add the Strict-Transport-Security header to responses.Affected if HSTS is not configured or the max-age directive is set to zero or disabled
If the installed version is 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.3 AND HSTS headers are not present in responses, the environment is affected.
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 dataEnable HSTS headers on the API Connect web server or load balancer with an appropriate max-age directive (minimum 31536000 seconds recommended), and consider including 'includeSubDomains' and 'preload' flags after testing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1546 — 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-2018-1546 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