CVE-2018-1631
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 oninit mongohash. IBM X-Force ID: 144431.
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 · moderate confidenceIBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.1 contains a symbolic link vulnerability in the oninit mongohash utility that allows a locally authenticated database administrator user to escalate privileges to root by manipulating symlinks during the utility's operation.
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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Identify IBM Informix Dynamic Server versionRun 'oninit -version' or check Informix installation directory for version informationAffected if The installed version is exactly 12.1
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Locate the oninit mongohash utilitySearch for the mongohash binary in Informix bin directories (typically $INFORMIXDIR/bin) using 'find $INFORMIXDIR -name mongohash 2>/dev/null'Affected if The mongohash utility exists in the Informix installation and is accessible to database administrator users
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Check ownership and permissions on mongohashRun 'ls -la' on the mongohash binary to verify it runs with elevated privileges (check for setuid or root ownership)Affected if The mongohash binary is owned by root and has setuid permissions, allowing execution as root
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Audit directory permissions for symlink manipulationExamine write permissions on directories where mongohash operates, and check for any user-created symlinks in Informix data or temp directoriesAffected if Database administrator users have write access to directories that mongohash accesses, enabling symlink creation
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Review for unauthorized root processesMonitor process list with 'ps -ef | grep root' and check for mongohash or oninit processes running unexpectedly as root by untrusted usersAffected if Mongohash or oninit processes are running as root initiated by non-privileged database administrator accounts
A user is affected if they run IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.1 and the mongohash utility is accessible to database administrator accounts with ability to manipulate symlinks.
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 IBM Informix patch for this vulnerability, restrict database administrator account access to trusted personnel, and monitor for unauthorized root-level process execution.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,440.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1631 — 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-2018-1631 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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