OctoberApplication · Octobercms

CVE-2018-1999009

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
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
October CMS version prior to Build 437 contains a Local File Inclusion vulnerability in modules/system/traits/ViewMaker.php#244 (makeFileContents function) that can result in Sensitive information disclosure and remote code execution. This attack appear to be exploitable remotely if the /backend path is accessible. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in Build 437.

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

October CMS versions prior to Build 437 contain a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the makeFileContents function at ViewMaker.php line 244. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to read sensitive files or potentially achieve remote code execution if the /backend path is accessible.

MitigationUpgrade to October CMS Build 437 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the /backend administrative path.

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
OctoberApplication
Affected:all versions

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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. Check October CMS build version
    Locate the version.php file in the cms directory (usually /app/laravel/cms or /modules/cms) and read the 'build' value from the version constant. Alternatively, check the backend footer which displays the build number.
    Affected if Build number is less than 437 or cannot be determined (implies older unpatched version)
  2. Verify /backend path accessibility
    Attempt to access the /backend administrative path from an untrusted network perspective or check server access control configurations (web server rules, firewall, IP restrictions).
    Affected if /backend is reachable from untrusted networks without authentication restrictions
  3. Inspect ViewMaker.php for vulnerable code
    Locate the file vendor/october/rain/src/Support/Filesystem/ViewMaker.php or modules/cms/classes/ViewMaker.php and examine the makeFileContents method around line 244 for direct file content inclusion without sanitization.
    Affected if The makeFileContents function contains code that passes user input directly to file_get_contents or similar file read operations without validation
  4. Check for sensitive file exposure
    Test the vulnerability by attempting to read a non-PHP file via the /backend path using path traversal (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd or ../../../../.env), observing if file contents are returned.
    Affected if File contents are returned in the response, indicating LFI is exploitable

Your environment is affected if October CMS build is below 437 AND the /backend path is accessible, allowing potential exploitation of the makeFileContents function in ViewMaker.php.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to October CMS Build 437 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the /backend administrative path.

Fix this in October Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2018-1999009 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