CVE-2018-18205
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 · uneditedTopvision CC8800 CMTS C-E devices allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request for /WebContent/startup.tar.gz with userName=admin in a cookie.
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 confidenceTopvision CC8800 CMTS C-E devices contain an information disclosure vulnerability where unauthenticated remote attackers can obtain sensitive configuration files by requesting /WebContent/startup.tar.gz with a cookie containing userName=admin. The CVSS 7.5 score indicates high severity due to the low attack complexity and potential for exposing credentials or system configuration data.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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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Identify device modelAccess the device management interface or check system information pages to confirm the device is a Topvision CC8800 CMTS C-E device. Look for model identifiers in the web interface, SNMP sysDescr, or CLI show version output.Affected if The device is a Topvision CC8800 CMTS C-E running any firmware version
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Check if WebContent path is exposedAttempt an HTTP GET request to http://<device-ip>/WebContent/startup.tar.gz without any authentication. Observe if the server returns a 200 OK response with a file download or displays directory contents.Affected if The endpoint returns any file or content, indicating the path is accessible
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Test cookie-based unauthenticated accessSend an HTTP GET request to /WebContent/startup.tar.gz with a Cookie header set to userName=admin. Use a tool like curl: curl -H 'Cookie: userName=admin' http://<device-ip>/WebContent/startup.tar.gzAffected if The request returns the startup.tar.gz file or other configuration files without requiring authentication
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Verify returned content is sensitiveIf a file is returned, extract and inspect its contents. Look for configuration data, passwords, SNMP community strings, or other credentials within the obtained archive.Affected if The downloaded file contains system configuration, credentials, or other sensitive data
A user is affected if they operate a Topvision CC8800 CMTS C-E device with any firmware version where the /WebContent/startup.tar.gz endpoint is accessible and returns configuration files when requested with a userName=admin cookie.
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 dataRestrict network access to the CMTS management interface, contact Topvision for available firmware patches, and if the device is end-of-life, plan for replacement with a supported platform.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18205 — 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-2018-18205 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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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.
- 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