CVE-2018-1857
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 · uneditedIBM DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (includes DB2 Connect Server) 11.1 could allow a user to bypass FGAC control and gain access to data they shouldn't be able to see. IBM X-Force ID: 151155.
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 confidenceIBM DB2 11.1 contains a vulnerability in Fine-Grained Access Control (FGAC) that allows authenticated users to bypass security policies and access data outside their permitted scope. The vulnerability enables unauthorized visibility into data that should be restricted based on row-level or column-level security definitions.
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= 11.1CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm DB2 version is 11.1Run 'db2level' or query DB2 with 'SELECT SERVICE_LEVEL FROM SYSIBMADM.SYSENVIRONMENT' to retrieve the installed version.Affected if The installed version is exactly 11.1 (versions outside this range are not affected)
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Verify Fine-Grained Access Control is configuredQuery SYSCAT.ROUTINEAUTH or check for any LBAC (Label-Based Access Control) security policies defined in the database using 'SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.LBACPOLICIES' or 'SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.LBACSCHEMAS'.Affected if FGAC/LBAC security policies exist and are applied to tables in the database
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Check for row-level or column-level security definitionsInspect security labels and protections using 'SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.SECURITYLABELS' and 'SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.SECURITYPOLICIES', or check DB2 audit configurations for any FGAC-related security events.Affected if Row-level or column-level security definitions are present on tables
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Identify authenticated users with elevated privilegesReview DB2 privileges and permissions with 'SELECT GRANTEE, DBADMAUTH FROM SYSCAT.DBAUTH' and check for users granted DBADM or SECADM authorities who could exploit this FGAC bypass.Affected if Multiple authenticated users with DBADM or SECADM authority exist in the database
The environment is affected if IBM DB2 version 11.1 is installed AND Fine-Grained Access Control with row/column-level security policies is actively configured and in use.
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 dataApply the IBM DB2 11.1 patch or upgrade to a fixed version as specified in IBM's security advisory for CVE-2018-1857.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-1857 — 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-2018-1857 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
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