CVE-2018-1618
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 Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance 2.2.1 could allow a remote attacker to traverse directories on the system. An attacker could send a specially-crafted URL request containing "dot dot" sequences (/../) to view arbitrary files on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 144343.
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 Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance 2.2.1 contains a path traversal vulnerability allowing remote attackers to access arbitrary files by using 'dot dot' sequences (/../) in specially-crafted URL requests. This classic directory traversal flaw permits unauthorized file system access beyond the intended web root directory.
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= 2.1.1CVSS 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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Confirm IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager is installedLocate the Virtual Appliance installation or check system inventory for IBM Security Privileged Identity ManagerAffected if The product is present on the system
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Identify installed versionCheck the version of IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance (typically accessible via the appliance admin interface, CLI, or product documentation)Affected if The version matches 2.1.1 or falls within the affected range provided
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Verify web interface is accessibleConfirm the Virtual Appliance web interface is reachable and operationalAffected if The web interface is exposed and accessible to network users
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Check web server logs for directory traversal attemptsReview web server access and error logs for requests containing '../' sequences, particularly patterns like '/..//' or '/../' in URLsAffected if Log entries contain directory traversal patterns targeting files outside the web root
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Inspect for unauthorized file access indicatorsExamine system logs and audit trails for unexpected file read operations or access to sensitive system filesAffected if Evidence exists of files being accessed outside the intended web root directory
A user is affected if IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager version 2.1.1 is installed and the web interface is accessible, with or without signs of exploitation in 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 dataApply the vendor patch from IBM. If no patch is available, implement strict input validation to reject URLs containing '../' sequences and consider deploying a WAF rule to block directory traversal patterns.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1618 — 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-2018-1618 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