CVE-2018-1630
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 Informix Dynamic Server Enterprise Edition 12.1 could allow a local user logged in with database administrator user to gain root privileges through a symbolic link vulnerability in onmode. IBM X-Force ID: 144430.
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 Informix Dynamic Server Enterprise Edition 12.1 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the onmode utility. A user with database administrator privileges can exploit a symbolic link vulnerability to gain root-level access on the affected system.
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= 12.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Check IBM Informix versionRun 'oninit -v' or check /opt/IBM/informix/etc/onconfig for version information, or query 'onstat -'Affected if The installed version is IBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.1
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Locate the onmode utilityFind the onmode binary - typically in /opt/IBM/informix/bin/onmode. Use 'find /opt -name onmode 2>/dev/null' if installed elsewhereAffected if The onmode binary exists on the system and version is 12.1
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Verify onmode file permissionsRun 'ls -la /opt/IBM/informix/bin/onmode' to check ownership and permissions. Look for world-writable permissions or unusual ownershipAffected if The onmode binary has permissions allowing modification by non-root users or is owned by a non-privileged account that could be exploited
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Identify DBA account holdersQuery the informix database or check /opt/IBM/informix/etc/sqlhosts for DBA users. Use 'ls -la' on the Informix user home directory to find .informix file with DBA roleAffected if There are users with DBA privileges who could potentially exploit this vulnerability
A system is affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.1 is installed with the onmode utility present and accessible to users with DBA privileges.
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 appropriate IBM Informix patch or upgrade to a fixed version. Restrict and audit DBA account usage, and review file permissions on the onmode binary to limit symlink manipulation opportunities.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1630 — 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-2018-1630 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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