CVE-2018-5438
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 · uneditedPhilips ISCV application prior to version 2.3.0 has an insufficient session expiration vulnerability where an attacker could reuse the session of a previously logged in user. This vulnerability exists when using ISCV together with an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, where ISCV is in KIOSK mode for multiple users and using Windows authentication. This may allow an attacker to gain unauthorized access to patient health information and potentially modify this information.
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 confidencePhilips ISCV application prior to version 2.3.0 contains an insufficient session expiration vulnerability. When the application is used in KIOSK mode with Windows authentication alongside an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, sessions from previous users are not properly terminated, allowing an attacker to reuse a logged-in user's session to access and potentially modify patient health information.
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<= 2.3.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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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Determine Philips ISCV installed versionLocate the installed Philips Intellispace Cardiovascular application and check its version information, typically found in the application About section, installation directory, or Windows Programs and FeaturesAffected if The installed version is 2.3.0 or earlier (any version <= 2.3.0)
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Verify KIOSK mode is enabledInspect the application configuration settings or deployment documentation to determine if KIOSK mode is currently active for the deploymentAffected if KIOSK mode is enabled and configured for end-user access
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Confirm Windows authentication is in useReview the authentication configuration for the ISCV application to verify that Windows authentication (such as Windows Integrated Authentication or NTLM/Kerberos) is configured as the primary authentication methodAffected if Windows authentication is configured as the authentication mechanism
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Check for EMR system integrationExamine the application integration settings or network configuration to determine if the ISCV application is integrated with an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systemAffected if EMR system integration is configured and active
The environment is affected if Philips ISCV version is 2.3.0 or earlier AND KIOSK mode is enabled with Windows authentication AND EMR integration is configured - all three conditions must be present for the session reuse vulnerability to apply.
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 dataUpgrade Philips ISCV to version 2.3.0 or later to obtain the session expiration fix. Verify that session timeouts are properly enforced in KIOSK mode when integrated with EMR systems using Windows authentication.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5438 — 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-2018-5438 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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