CVE-2018-17146
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 · uneditedA cross-site scripting vulnerability exists in Nagios XI before 5.5.4 via the 'name' parameter within the Account Information page. Exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the auto login admin management page.
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 stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in Nagios XI versions prior to 5.5.4. The 'name' parameter within the Account Information page (specifically the auto login admin management interface) fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input, allowing an authenticated attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code that executes in the browsers of other administrators viewing the affected page.
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< 5.5.4CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Confirm Nagios XI installationIdentify if Nagios XI is running in the environment, typically accessible via web browser on port 80/443 or by checking for Nagios XI processes and directories.Affected if Nagios XI software is present in the environment
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Determine installed Nagios XI versionAccess the Nagios XI web interface and navigate to the Admin or About page to view the installed version number, or use the command line to check the version file if accessible.Affected if The installed version is any version prior to 5.5.4 (e.g., 5.5.3, 5.4.x, earlier versions)
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Locate the Account Information pageLog into the Nagios XI administrative interface and navigate to the Account Information page, specifically looking for the auto login admin management interface where user account details are configured.Affected if This page exists and is accessible to authenticated administrators
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Inspect the name parameterExamine the Account Information page to identify the 'name' field or parameter used for admin account management. Check if user-supplied input in this field is stored and displayed without proper sanitization.Affected if The 'name' parameter accepts user input and displays it back to other administrators without visible encoding or validation
A user is affected if Nagios XI is installed with a version lower than 5.5.4 and the Account Information page with the auto login admin management interface is accessible, as the unsanitized 'name' parameter allows stored XSS to execute in administrator browsers.
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 data5.5.4
Upgrade to Nagios XI version 5.5.4 or later to obtain the security patch. Additionally, implement proper input validation and output encoding for the 'name' parameter and similar user-controllable fields to prevent XSS across the application.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17146 — 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-2018-17146 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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