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Security GuardiumApplication · Ibm

CVE-2018-1818

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-12-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 Security Guardium 10 and 10.5 contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data. IBM X-Force ID: 150022.

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 · moderate confidence

IBM Security Guardium versions 10 and 10.5 contain hard-coded credentials (passwords or cryptographic keys) embedded in the application. These credentials are used for multiple functions including inbound authentication to the appliance, outbound communication to external systems, and encryption of internal data. An attacker who obtains these credentials could authenticate to the system, intercept communications, or decrypt sensitive data.

MitigationLocate and replace all hard-coded credentials in the Guardium installation with strong, unique values generated per-instance. Rotate any credentials that may have been exposed and review access logs for unauthorized use. Apply vendor patches when available.

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
Security GuardiumApplication
Affected:>= 10.0, <= 10.5

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

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

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

  1. Identify the installed Guardium version
    Use the Guardium CLI or web interface to retrieve the current product version. Run 'guardium_version' command or check About section in the web UI.
    Affected if The version is 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, or 10.5.
  2. Locate embedded credentials in configuration files
    Search Guardium configuration directories for files containing hard-coded passwords, encryption keys, or credential strings. Inspect files in /opt/guardium/config or similar installation directories.
    Affected if Any hard-coded passwords or cryptographic keys are found in configuration files.
  3. Inspect application source or scripts for embedded credentials
    Review Guardium application files, scripts, or modules for hard-coded authentication credentials. Look for password= or key= patterns in plaintext.
    Affected if Hard-coded credentials are embedded in application files or scripts.
  4. Check for default credential usage
    Verify whether default or known hard-coded credentials are being used for inbound appliance authentication, outbound system communication, or data encryption functions.
    Affected if The system relies on hard-coded credentials for any of these functions.

If the installed Guardium version is between 10.0 and 10.5 and contains hard-coded credentials in configuration files, application code, or uses them for authentication/encryption, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.5
Interim mitigation

Locate and replace all hard-coded credentials in the Guardium installation with strong, unique values generated per-instance. Rotate any credentials that may have been exposed and review access logs for unauthorized use. Apply vendor patches when available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Guardium 10.6 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current IBM Security Guardium version by accessing the Guardium UI and navigating to the 'Tools' > 'System View' > 'Health' section, or by running 'guardium_version' CLI command
  2. 2. Download Guardium version 10.6 or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/)
  3. 3. Before upgrading, ensure a complete backup of the Guardium system by using the CLI command 'guardium_backup' or via the UI under 'Administration' > 'System' > 'Backup/Restore'
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade will require system downtime
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade package to the Guardium appliance via the UI under 'Administration' > 'System' > 'Software Update' or via CLI using 'guardium_upload' command
  6. 6. Run the upgrade using 'guardium_install' CLI command or follow the UI-guided upgrade process
  7. 7. After upgrade completes, verify the new version by running 'guardium_version' command
  8. 8. Change all credentials that may have been affected by the hard-coded credential vulnerability, including: admin passwords, database passwords, encryption keys, and any credentials used for outbound communication to external systems
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - ensure backups before proceeding; some configuration changes between major versions may require adjustment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Security Guardium Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2018-1818 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