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Api ConnectApplication · Ibm

CVE-2018-1638

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0.8.3 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
IBM API Connect 5.0.0.0-5.0.8.3 Developer Portal does not enforce Two Factor Authentication (TFA) while resetting a user password but enforces it for all other login scenarios. IBM X-Force ID: 144483.

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 confidence

The IBM API Connect 5.0.0.0-5.0.8.3 Developer Portal fails to enforce Two Factor Authentication during the password reset flow while requiring it for all other login scenarios. An attacker who has obtained a user's credentials could bypass TFA protection by using the password reset mechanism to gain account access.

MitigationApply the IBM security patch for CVE-2018-1638 to enforce TFA during password reset. Verify all authentication pathways enforce TFA consistently.

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
Api ConnectApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0.0, <= 5.0.8.3

CVSS 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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if IBM API Connect Developer Portal is deployed
    Locate the API Connect installation and confirm the Developer Portal component is in use. Check for portal-related services, web applications, or configurations referencing 'developer' or 'portal' in the API Connect installation directory.
    Affected if The Developer Portal component of IBM API Connect is present in the environment.
  2. Determine the installed API Connect version
    Run the command to retrieve the API Connect version (typically via IBM API Connect management CLI or checking version files in the installation directory). Compare the version number to the affected range 5.0.0.0-5.0.8.3.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.3.
  3. Verify Two Factor Authentication is enabled
    Access the API Connect management interface or Developer Portal admin settings. Check the TFA/security settings configuration to confirm Two Factor Authentication is enabled for the portal.
    Affected if TFA is enabled in the Developer Portal settings.
  4. Inspect password reset flow configuration
    Review the Developer Portal configuration files or authentication settings related to the password reset mechanism. Look for any configuration that controls whether TFA is required during the password reset process.
    Affected if The password reset configuration does not enforce TFA, or the TFA enforcement setting differs from other login flows.
  5. Test password reset flow for TFA enforcement
    If possible, initiate a password reset for a user account with TFA enabled. Observe whether the TFA challenge is presented during or after the password reset completion, versus during normal login.
    Affected if TFA is not prompted during the password reset flow while it is required for standard login.

You are affected if the Developer Portal is running IBM API Connect version 5.0.0.0-5.0.8.3 and the password reset flow bypasses Two Factor Authentication while other login paths enforce it.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.0.8.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM security patch for CVE-2018-1638 to enforce TFA during password reset. Verify all authentication pathways enforce TFA consistently.

Fix this in Api Connect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1638 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data