CVE-2018-5383
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 · uneditedBluetooth firmware or operating system software drivers in macOS versions before 10.13, High Sierra and iOS versions before 11.4, and Android versions before the 2018-06-05 patch may not sufficiently validate elliptic curve parameters used to generate public keys during a Diffie-Hellman key exchange, which may allow a remote attacker to obtain the encryption key used by the device.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability lies in Bluetooth firmware and OS drivers that fail to properly validate elliptic curve parameters during Diffie-Hellman key exchange. An attacker can exploit this to manipulate the key exchange and potentially recover the encryption key, compromising Bluetooth communication confidentiality.
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< 4.3= 6.0= 6.0.1= 7.0= 7.1.1= 7.1.2= 8.0= 8.1< 11.4< 10.13CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 the device OS and versionCheck the operating system version on the device. For Android: go to Settings > About Phone > Android version. For iOS: go to Settings > General > About > Version. For macOS: click Apple menu > About This Mac.Affected if The device runs Android 6.0, 6.0.1, 7.0, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, or 8.1; iOS earlier than 11.4; macOS earlier than 10.13; or uses Ti Wl18xx Bluetooth Service Pack earlier than version 4.3.
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Check Ti Wl18xx Bluetooth Service Pack versionIf using Ti Wl18xx chipset, check the Bluetooth Service Pack version through the device firmware or driver information panel provided by the hardware manufacturer.Affected if The installed Ti Wl18xx Bluetooth Service Pack version is earlier than 4.3.
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Determine if Bluetooth is actively usedCheck if Bluetooth functionality is enabled on the device. On Android: Settings > Bluetooth > toggle status. On iOS: Settings > Bluetooth > toggle status. On macOS: System Preferences > Bluetooth > check if enabled.Affected if Bluetooth is enabled and the device version falls within the affected ranges, as the vulnerability is triggered during Bluetooth pairing using Diffie-Hellman key exchange with elliptic curve parameters.
The environment is affected if the device runs a version of Android (6.0 through 8.1), iOS (below 11.4), macOS (below 10.13), or Ti Wl18xx Bluetooth Service Pack (below 4.3) AND uses Bluetooth connectivity.
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 data4.310.1311.4
Update affected devices to macOS 10.13 or later, iOS 11.4 or later, or apply the Android June 2018 security patch or later.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5383 — 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-2018-5383 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
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