CVE-2018-16243
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 · uneditedSolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer (DPA) 11.1.468 and 12.0.3074 have several persistent XSS vulnerabilities, related to logViewer.iwc, centralManage.cen, userAdministration.iwc, database.iwc, alertManagement.iwc, eventAnnotations.iwc, and central.cen.
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 confidenceMultiple persistent XSS vulnerabilities in SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer allow attackers to inject malicious scripts through seven components (logViewer.iwc, centralManage.cen, userAdministration.iwc, database.iwc, alertManagement.iwc, eventAnnotations.iwc, central.cen). The injected scripts are stored on the server and execute in the browsers of users accessing these components.
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= 11.1.468= 12.0.3074CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 installed SolarWinds DPA versionAccess the DPA web interface and navigate to Help > About, or check the Windows Programs and Features list for the installed version numberAffected if Version is exactly 11.1.468 or exactly 12.0.3074
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Verify access to affected componentsConfirm the DPA web console is accessible and the following endpoints respond: /logViewer.iwc, /centralManage.cen, /userAdministration.iwc, /database.iwc, /alertManagement.iwc, /eventAnnotations.iwc, /central.cenAffected if Any of these seven components are reachable and functional in the web interface
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Inspect stored user inputs in log viewerIn the DPA web interface, access the Log Viewer component (logViewer.iwc) and review any stored log entries or filter inputs for unsanitized HTML or script tagsAffected if User-supplied data in log entries contains raw HTML or JavaScript that renders in the browser
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Inspect stored user inputs in alert managementNavigate to Alert Management (alertManagement.iwc) and examine any configured alert definitions, notification templates, or custom alert messages for unsanitized contentAffected if Alert names, descriptions, or notification text contain unescaped script tags or event handlers
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Inspect user administration dataAccess User Administration (userAdministration.iwc) and review user profiles, display names, or custom fields for persisted script contentAffected if User display names or profile fields store executable JavaScript when viewed by other users
If the installed DPA version is exactly 11.1.468 or 12.0.3074 AND the web console with any of the seven affected components is accessible, the environment is likely vulnerable to stored XSS attacks.
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 dataUpgrade SolarWinds DPA to a patched version beyond 11.1.468 and 12.0.3074, or implement output encoding and input validation across the affected components to neutralize malicious script payloads.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16243 — 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-2018-16243 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
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