CVE-2018-21235
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Foxit E-mail advertising system before September 2018. It allows authentication bypass and information disclosure, related to Interspire Email Marketer.
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 confidenceThe Foxit E-mail advertising system before September 2018 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to access the system without proper credentials. This flaw also enables information disclosure, potentially exposing sensitive data stored within the Interspire Email Marketer-based system.
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< 09-2018CVSS 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:3.1/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 if Foxit E-mail Advertising System is installedSearch the web server for directories or files associated with Interspire Email Marketer or Foxit email advertising. Look for common installation paths such as /admin, /email_marketer, or check for files named 'interspire' or 'foxit' in the web root.Affected if The software is found installed on the server
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Determine the installed versionLocate and inspect version files, typically found in the admin directory, configuration files, or a 'version.php' file within the application root. Check the file contents for a date stamp or version number.Affected if The version date is before September 2018 or the version cannot be verified as post-September 2018
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Verify if the administrative interface is network-accessibleAttempt to access the admin login page from an untrusted network, or review firewall and web server configuration to determine if port 80/443 for the admin path is exposed to the internet or untrusted networks.Affected if The admin interface is accessible from untrusted networks without VPN or IP restriction
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Check for unauthorized admin accountsReview the user database or admin user tables for accounts that were not created by legitimate administrators, or check server access logs for unauthorized access patterns to the admin area.Affected if Unknown or unauthorized admin accounts exist in the system
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Inspect for information disclosure exposureReview the application's configuration files and database for sensitive data that may be exposed through the vulnerability, such as unencrypted user data, API keys, or database credentials.Affected if Sensitive data is stored within the application and the admin interface is accessible without authentication
A user is affected if the Foxit E-mail Advertising System is installed with a version dated before September 2018 and the administrative interface is network-accessible to untrusted parties.
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 data09-2018
Update the Foxit E-mail advertising system to a version released after September 2018, which contains the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the administrative interface and audit existing user accounts for unauthorized access.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-21235 — 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-2018-21235 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