Api ConnectApplication · Ibm

CVE-2018-1774

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2018.3.6 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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, 5.0.8.4, 2018.1 and 2018.3.6 is vulnerable to CSV injection via the developer portal and analytics that could contain malicious commands that would be executed once opened by an administrator. IBM X-Force ID: 148692.

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 API Connect versions 5.0.0.0, 5.0.8.4, 2018.1, and 2018.3.6 are vulnerable to CSV injection via the developer portal and analytics components. Attackers can embed malicious spreadsheet formula commands (e.g., =CMD) into data fields that get exported to CSV files; when an administrator opens the CSV in a spreadsheet application, the formulas execute locally on the administrator's machine.

MitigationApply IBM API Connect security patches or upgrades to a supported version. Until patched, restrict analytics export functionality to trusted users and warn administrators to disable automatic formula execution in spreadsheet applications when opening exported CSV files.

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, <= 5.0.8.4>= 2018.1.0, <= 2018.3.6

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 installed IBM API Connect version
    Run the command to display the API Connect version (typically via 'apic status' or checking the management node via 'apic manage:version' or reviewing the installation manifest)
    Affected if The version displayed is 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.4, or 2018.1.0 through 2018.3.6
  2. Determine if developer portal is provisioned
    Check the API Connect topology or configuration for enabled portal subsystems using 'apic topologies' or reviewing the management console for portal status
    Affected if The developer portal component is enabled and accessible to end users who can submit data
  3. Check if analytics component is enabled
    Verify analytics services are running via the management console or CLI commands such as 'apic analytics:status'
    Affected if Analytics collection and reporting is enabled for API usage data
  4. Confirm CSV export capability exists
    Access the analytics dashboard or developer portal admin interface and locate any export or download functions that generate CSV reports
    Affected if CSV export functionality is present and available to users or administrators
  5. Verify user-submitted data can reach exported reports
    Review data flow from developer portal submissions or API invocation records through to any CSV export feature
    Affected if User-supplied input in API calls or portal forms can appear in exported CSV files

Your environment is affected if you run IBM API Connect versions 5.0.0.0-5.0.8.4 or 2018.1.0-2018.3.6 with the developer portal or analytics component enabled and CSV export functionality present.

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 2018.3.6
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM API Connect security patches or upgrades to a supported version. Until patched, restrict analytics export functionality to trusted users and warn administrators to disable automatic formula execution in spreadsheet applications when opening exported CSV files.

Fix this in Api Connect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2018-1774 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