CVE-2018-1636
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: 144441.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the oninit utility of IBM Informix Dynamic Server Enterprise Edition 12.1. An authenticated user can exploit this memory corruption flaw to execute arbitrary code with root privileges, achieving privilege escalation to a root shell.
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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Locate the Informix installation directorySearch for the oninit binary using 'find / -name oninit -type f 2>/dev/null' or check common paths such as /opt/IBM/informix/bin/ or $INFORMIXDIR/bin/Affected if The oninit binary is not found, meaning Informix is not installed.
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Identify the installed Informix versionRun 'oninit -version' or check the version file in the Informix installation directory (typically $INFORMIXDIR/etc/version), or use 'onstat -' if availableAffected if The version matches 12.10 exactly (12.10.x where x is any patch level).
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Verify the oninit utility is present and executableConfirm the oninit binary exists and has execute permissions using 'ls -la <path_to_oninit>'Affected if The oninit binary exists and is executable by users who would authenticate to the system.
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Check for authenticated user access to InformixReview which OS users have Informix authentication credentials or database login rights (check $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts and user mappings)Affected if Any authenticated user can access the Informix instance, as the vulnerability is exploitable by any authenticated user.
You are affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.10 is installed and the oninit utility is accessible to authenticated users on your system.
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 patch for CVE-2018-1636 (contact IBM Support for fix bundle). Prior to patching, restrict access to the Informix installation to trusted authenticated users only, and ensure principle of least privilege for database accounts.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1636 — 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-2018-1636 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
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