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Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2018-1685

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (includes DB2 Connect Server) 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1 contains a vulnerability in db2cacpy that could allow a local user to read any file on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 145502.

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

IBM DB2 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the db2cacpy utility affecting versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, and 11.1. The flaw allows a local unprivileged user to read arbitrary files on the system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration data, credentials, or other confidential information.

MitigationApply the IBM DB2 security patch for CVE-2018-1685; restrict execute permissions on db2cacpy and related binaries to privileged users only until patch can be applied.

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
Db2Application
Affected:= 9.7= 10.1= 10.5= 11.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check if IBM DB2 is installed
    Run 'db2level' or 'db2pd -version' command, or check for DB2 installation directories such as /opt/ibm/db2 or /opt/IBM/db2
    Affected if DB2 is installed and the command returns a version number
  2. Identify the installed DB2 version
    Execute 'db2level' and parse the output for the version and release number
    Affected if The version matches 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 exactly
  3. Locate the db2cacpy utility
    Run 'find / -name db2cacpy 2>/dev/null' or check within the DB2 installation directory under sqllib/bin or bin directory
    Affected if The db2cacpy binary exists on the system
  4. Verify execute permissions on db2cacpy
    Run 'ls -la <path_to_db2cacpy>' and check if unprivileged users have execute (x) permissions
    Affected if The file is owned by a privileged user but grants execute permissions to others or all users (modes like 755, 775, or 777)

A user is affected if they have IBM DB2 versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, or 11.1 installed and the db2cacpy utility is present with executable permissions for unprivileged users.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the IBM DB2 security patch for CVE-2018-1685; restrict execute permissions on db2cacpy and related binaries to privileged users only until patch can be applied.

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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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-2018-1685 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