CVE-2018-1640
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 Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance 2.2.1 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system. By sending a specially-crafted request, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 144580.
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 Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance 2.2.1 contains an authenticated command injection vulnerability. A remote attacker with valid credentials can send specially-crafted requests to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the target appliance.
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= 2.1.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.
-
Identify the installed version of IBM Security Privileged Identity ManagerLog into the appliance administration console or access the system via SSH and run the command to display version information, typically found in the system info or about section of the management interfaceAffected if The installed version is 2.1.1 (exact match to the affected version listed)
-
Verify if remote management interface is network-accessibleFrom an external system, attempt to reach the appliance management port (typically HTTPS port 443 or 9443) using a tool like nmap or curl to confirm the interface is exposed beyond localhostAffected if The management interface is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet
-
Confirm valid administrative accounts existReview the local user database or directory integration settings through the appliance admin console to determine if administrative credentials are configuredAffected if One or more valid administrative or operator accounts are enabled on the system
-
Check for exposed API endpointsReview the appliance configuration to identify if REST API or CLI endpoints are enabled and accessible remotely, which could accept the specially-crafted requests mentioned in the CVEAffected if Remote API or CLI access is enabled without IP restriction
The environment is affected if IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager version 2.1.1 is installed and the management interface is network-accessible with valid administrative credentials configured.
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 security patch or upgrade to a fixed version per vendor advisory. As a compensating control, restrict network access to the appliance management interface to trusted IPs only and ensure strong authentication credentials.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1640 — 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-2018-1640 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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