CVE-2018-15782
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 · uneditedThe Quick Setup component of RSA Authentication Manager versions prior to 8.4 is vulnerable to a relative path traversal vulnerability. A local attacker could potentially provide an administrator with a crafted license that if used during the quick setup deployment of the initial RSA Authentication Manager system, could allow the attacker unauthorized access to that system.
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 confidenceA relative path traversal vulnerability exists in the Quick Setup component of RSA Authentication Manager versions prior to 8.4. A local attacker could provide a crafted malicious license file to an administrator during initial system setup, potentially allowing unauthorized system 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< 8.4CVSS 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:3.0/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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Determine RSA Authentication Manager versionUse the product's built-in version checking mechanism or system information command to retrieve the installed RSA Authentication Manager version numberAffected if The installed version is any version prior to 8.4 (for example, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, or earlier)
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Identify if system is in Quick Setup phaseCheck whether the RSA Authentication Manager is currently in or has recently completed initial Quick Setup configuration. This may be indicated by setup wizard status, system initialization logs, or configuration state filesAffected if The system is in initial Quick Setup phase or was recently set up using Quick Setup with a license file
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Inspect license file import processReview system logs, configuration files, or audit records related to license file import during Quick Setup. Look for any non-standard or suspicious file paths referenced in license processingAffected if License files were processed through Quick Setup and the system shows evidence of path traversal attempts or unusual file references
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Check for unauthorized access indicatorsExamine system access logs, administrator accounts, and authentication records for any unauthorized account creation or access that occurred during or shortly after initial setupAffected if Unexpected administrator accounts or unauthorized system access events exist in the timeframe surrounding initial Quick Setup
A defender is affected if RSA Authentication Manager version is below 8.4 AND the system was initially configured using Quick Setup with a license file, especially if any anomalies are found in license processing or system access logs.
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 data8.4
Upgrade RSA Authentication Manager to version 8.4 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict validation and sanitization of license files before processing during Quick Setup.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2018-15782 — 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-2018-15782 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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