CVE-2018-4301
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 · uneditedThis issue is fixed in SCSSU-201801. A potential stack based buffer overflow existed in GemaltoKeyHandle.cpp.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GemaltoKeyHandle.cpp, a key handling component in Gemalto security software. This memory corruption flaw could allow an attacker to overwrite stack memory, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or denial of service.
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< scssu-201801CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Smart Card Services installationCheck if Apple Smart Card Services are present on the system. On macOS, this can be done by checking for the presence of /System/Library/Frameworks/SmartCardServices.framework or running 'system_profiler SPSmartCards' to list installed smart card services.Affected if Smart Card Services are installed and the version cannot be determined or is earlier than scssu-201801
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Identify scssu component versionLocate and inspect the scssu (Smart Card Services Update) binary or bundle. Check the version information using 'ls -la' on the scssu component in /System/Library/Frameworks/SmartCardServices.framework/Versions/Current/ or check via 'mdls' metadata for version details.Affected if The scssu version is present and reports a build date or version number earlier than the 201801 release (scssu-201801)
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Confirm Gemalto key handling componentInspect the Smart Card Services framework for the presence of GemaltoKeyHandle.cpp compiled component. This can be verified by examining the framework binaries or checking '/usr/lib/pcsc' directory for Gemalto-related smart card drivers.Affected if The GemaltoKeyHandle component is present within the Smart Card Services installation and the overall package version is unpatched
A system is affected if Apple Smart Card Services are installed with a scssu version earlier than scssu-201801, indicating the vulnerable Gemalto key handling component has not been updated.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the SCSSU-201801 update to address the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to affected systems and monitor for indicators of compromise.
scssu-201801
- 1. Identify the current version of Smart Card Services installed on the system
- 2. Navigate to the official Smart Card Services repository or download page at smartcardservices.github.io
- 3. Download the SCSSU-201801 release package
- 4. Follow the installation or upgrade procedure documented for Smart Card Services
- 5. Verify that the upgraded version matches scssu-201801 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 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 $5,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4301 — 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-2018-4301 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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- 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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