CVE-2018-1553
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty prior to 18.0.0.2 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by mishandling of exceptions by the SAML Web SSO feature. IBM X-Force ID: 142890.
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty prior to version 18.0.0.2 contains a vulnerability in the SAML Web SSO feature where improper exception handling allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information. This is an information disclosure vulnerability with CVSS 7.5 severity.
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< 18.0.0.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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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Identify the IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versionCheck the version.properties file in the Liberty install directory (wlp/lib/versions) or run the command: java -jar wlp/tools/wlp-product-info.jarAffected if The installed version is earlier than 18.0.0.2
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Confirm the product is IBM WebSphere Application Server LibertyVerify the installation is the Liberty profile, not traditional WebSphere. Check for the wlp directory structure and product identity in the version.properties fileAffected if The product is IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty with version below 18.0.0.2
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Verify SAML Web SSO feature is enabledInspect the server.xml configuration file in the wlp/usr/servers/<serverName>/ directory. Look for the samlWebSso-1.0 feature in the <featureManager> sectionAffected if The samlWebSso-1.0 feature is listed in the server.xml featureManager
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Check SAML SSO configuration existsExamine the server.xml for SAML-related configuration elements such as <samlWebSso> or SAML token settings. Also check for any saml configuration in the wlp/usr/servers/<serverName>/configDropins directoryAffected if SAML Web SSO is configured and enabled on the affected Liberty version
The environment is affected if IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty version is below 18.0.0.2 AND the SAML Web SSO feature (samlWebSso-1.0) is enabled in the server configuration.
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 data18.0.0.2
Upgrade IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty to version 18.0.0.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1553 — 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-2018-1553 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
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