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Acos Web Application FirewallApplication · A10networks

CVE-2018-15904

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-08-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
A10 ACOS Web Application Firewall (WAF) 2.7.1 and 2.7.2 before 2.7.2-P12, 4.1.0 before 4.1.0-P11, 4.1.1 before 4.1.1-P8, and 4.1.2 before 4.1.2-P4 mishandles the configured rules for blocking SQL injection attacks, aka A10-2017-0008.

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

The A10 ACOS Web Application Firewall contains a logic error in its SQL injection attack detection and blocking mechanism. The WAF fails to properly apply configured rules meant to filter/block SQL injection attempts, allowing malicious requests to pass through unprotected. This effectively defeats the purpose of the WAF for SQL injection protection.

MitigationUpgrade A10 ACOS to the patched versions: 2.7.2-P12, 4.1.0-P11, 4.1.1-P8, or 4.1.2-P4 (or later) to restore proper SQL injection rule enforcement.

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
Acos Web Application FirewallApplication
Affected:= 2.7.1= 2.7.2= 4.1.0= 4.1.1= 4.1.2

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 A10 ACOS WAF deployment
    Locate A10 ACOS devices in your environment and confirm the Web Application Firewall module is active. Check via the ACOS management interface or network inventory.
    Affected if A10 ACOS WAF is deployed in your environment
  2. Check ACOS version
    Access the ACOS management interface or CLI and retrieve the installed software version. Compare against the affected versions: 2.7.1, 2.7.2, 4.1.0, 4.1.1, 4.1.2
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the listed affected versions
  3. Verify SQL injection WAF rules are configured
    In the ACOS WAF configuration, locate the SQL injection protection rules. Confirm rules are defined in the WAF policy.
    Affected if SQL injection protection rules exist in the WAF configuration
  4. Confirm rule enforcement is active
    Check the WAF policy status to verify that SQL injection rules are enabled and applied to protected virtual servers. Review the WAF logs for SQL injection events.
    Affected if SQL injection rules are enabled but may not be properly enforced due to the vulnerability

You are affected if A10 ACOS WAF is deployed with version 2.7.1, 2.7.2, 4.1.0, 4.1.1, or 4.1.2 and SQL injection protection rules are configured, as the logic error may allow SQL injection requests to bypass the WAF.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade A10 ACOS to the patched versions: 2.7.2-P12, 4.1.0-P11, 4.1.1-P8, or 4.1.2-P4 (or later) to restore proper SQL injection rule enforcement.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the corresponding patched release: 2.7.2-P12 or later for 2.7.x versions; 4.1.0-P11 or later for 4.1.0; 4.1.1-P8 or later for 4.1.1; 4.1.2-P4 or later for 4.1.2

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed version of A10 ACOS WAF by checking the system management interface or running the appropriate version command
  2. 2. Based on your current version, determine the minimum patched release to upgrade to: if running 2.7.1 or 2.7.x, upgrade to 2.7.2-P12 or later; if running 4.1.0, upgrade to 4.1.0-P11 or later; if running 4.1.1, upgrade to 4.1.1-P8 or later; if running 4.1.2, upgrade to 4.1.2-P4 or later
  3. 3. Obtain the appropriate patch file from A10 Networks official support portal (www.a10networks.com) using your support contract credentials
  4. 4. Follow A10 Networks standard upgrade procedures to apply the patch, which typically involves uploading the patch through the WebUI or CLI
  5. 5. After upgrade completion, verify the WAF version reflects the patched release
  6. 6. Test that SQL injection attack rules are properly blocking SQL injection attempts to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
Caveat Standard patch upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; review A10 Networks release notes for any configuration or behavioral changes in specific patch versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acos Web Application Firewall Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2018-15904 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data