CVE-2018-1635
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in oninit in IBM Informix Dynamic Server Enterprise Edition 12.1 allows an authenticated user to execute predefined code with root privileges, such as escalating to a root shell. IBM X-Force ID: 144439.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in the oninit binary of IBM Informix Dynamic Server Enterprise Edition 12.1 allows an authenticated database user to overflow a stack buffer and execute predefined code with elevated (root) privileges, potentially achieving root shell access.
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= 12.10CVSS 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 if IBM Informix is installedLook for the presence of IBM Informix Dynamic Server on the system. Check for Informix installation directories or the 'oninit' binary in common paths such as $INFORMIXDIR/bin/oninit or /opt/IBM/informix/bin/oninit.Affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.1 is installed and the oninit binary exists
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Check the Informix versionRun 'oninit -version' or check the version file in the Informix installation directory to determine the exact installed version.Affected if The installed version is exactly 12.10 (version 12.10)
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Verify the oninit binary existsLocate the oninit binary in $INFORMIXDIR/bin/ or typical Informix installation paths and confirm it is present.Affected if The oninit binary is present in the expected installation directory
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Confirm database authentication is enabledCheck if the Informix database accepts user connections. Verify that the database instance is running and accepting authentication requests.Affected if The Informix database allows user authentication and accepts connections
You are affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.10 is installed with the oninit binary present and the database accepts authenticated user connections.
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 latest IBM Informix security patch for version 12.1. Additionally, enforce least-privilege database user access, restrict network access to Informix admin ports, and monitor for suspicious authentication activity.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1635 — 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-2018-1635 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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