CVE-2018-18997
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 · uneditedPluto Safety PLC Gateway Ethernet devices in ABB GATE-E1 and GATE-E2 all versions allows an unauthenticated attacker using the administrative web interface to insert an HTML/Javascript payload into any of the device properties, which may allow an attacker to display/execute the payload in a visitor browser.
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 confidenceStored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the administrative web interface of ABB GATE-E1 and GATE-E2 Pluto Safety PLC Gateway devices allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious HTML/JavaScript code into device properties, which executes when viewed by legitimate users.
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 versionsall 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Identify ABB GATE-E1 or GATE-E2 devices on the networkScan the network for devices with vendor identifier ABB and product names GATE-E1 or GATE-E2. Check network inventory records or use Nmap with service detection: nmap -sV --script=banner target IP rangesAffected if Any GATE-E1 or GATE-E2 device is found on the network
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Confirm the administrative web interface is enabledAttempt to access the device web interface via HTTP/HTTPS on common ports 80, 443, 8080. Check if the login page or device status page loads for the GATE-E1/E2Affected if The web interface is accessible and responds with ABB GATE-E device pages
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Check device firmware versionLog into the web interface or check device documentation/backup configs for the firmware version field. If accessible via CLI, use command 'show version' or similarAffected if Firmware version information shows any version - all versions are affected
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Inspect device properties for injected scriptsIn the web interface, navigate to device properties or configuration pages. Look for any fields containing HTML tags (<script>, <iframe>, onload=, onerror=) or unusual JavaScript code that does not match expected configurationAffected if Any device property field contains unexpected HTML, JavaScript code, or suspicious encoded content
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Review web server logs for XSS attack patternsIf device logging is accessible, review logs for GET/POST requests containing patterns like <script>, javascript:, or HTML tags in parameter values sent to the deviceAffected if Logs show requests with XSS payloads targeting device configuration parameters
You are affected if any ABB GATE-E1 or GATE-E2 device with an accessible administrative web interface is present in your environment, since all firmware versions are vulnerable to stored XSS.
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 dataImplement network segmentation to isolate the device from untrusted networks, restrict web interface access to trusted IPs only, and consider disabling the administrative web interface if not required for operations.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18997 — 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-2018-18997 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