CVE-2018-1683
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to encrypt ORB communication. IBM X-Force ID: 145455.
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty fails to encrypt Object Request Broker (ORB) communication, allowing a remote attacker to intercept and obtain sensitive information transmitted in plaintext between components.
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< 18.0.0.3CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check the installed WebSphere Liberty versionLocate the Liberty installation directory and find the version information file (typically version.txt, product.info, or check the installation date). Compare the version number to 18.0.0.3 - any version below this is affected.Affected if The installed version is lower than 18.0.0.3
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Verify if Object Request Broker (ORB) is enabledOpen the server.xml configuration file (located in the Liberty server config directory) and search for an <orb> element or ORB-related configuration. ORB is enabled if this element exists and is not commented out.Affected if ORB is enabled in the server configuration (an <orb> element is present and active)
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Inspect ORB transport security configurationIn the server.xml file, examine the <orb> element for transport mechanisms or security settings. Look for attributes like transportClass, securityEnabled, or nested sslRef elements that indicate encryption settings.Affected if The ORB configuration lacks SSL/TLS encryption settings (no sslRef, securityEnabled=true, or equivalent secure transport configuration)
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Check for global SSL configuration used by ORBSearch the server.xml for sslRef attributes referenced by the ORB configuration, and verify if those SSL configurations exist and are properly set up with keystores and truststores.Affected if No SSL configuration is defined or linked to the ORB, meaning communication defaults to plaintext
You are affected if your WebSphere Liberty version is below 18.0.0.3 AND ORB is enabled without SSL/TLS encryption configured for its communication channels.
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 data18.0.0.3
Enable SSL/TLS encryption for ORB communication in the WebSphere Liberty configuration, typically by configuring the ORB SSL settings and ensuring all inter-component communication uses secure channels.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1683 — 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-2018-1683 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
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