CVE-2018-5451
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 · uneditedIn Philips Alice 6 System version R8.0.2 or prior, when an actor claims to have a given identity, the software does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. This weakness can lead to the exposure of resources or functionality to unintended actors, possibly providing attackers with sensitive information or the ability to execute arbitrary code.
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 confidenceImproper authentication vulnerability in Philips Alice 6 System where the software fails to properly verify identity claims when actors claim a given identity. This allows unauthorized access to resources and functionality, potentially exposing sensitive patient data or enabling arbitrary code execution.
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<= r8.0.2CVSS 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:3.0/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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Identify Philips Alice 6 System deploymentInventory your medical device environment to determine if Philips Alice 6 systems are in use. Consult your biomedical engineering records, device management systems, or network scans for Alice 6 sleep study systems.Affected if Philips Alice 6 System is present in the environment
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Determine firmware versionAccess the device administration interface or check system information within the Alice 6 software. The firmware version is typically displayed in the system settings, about section, or can be retrieved via the device management console. Compare the installed version against r8.0.2.Affected if Installed firmware version is r8.0.2 or earlier (any version <= r8.0.2)
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Verify authentication configurationInspect the authentication settings within the Alice 6 administration panel. Check whether multi-factor authentication is enabled, and review any user account settings to confirm that proper identity verification is required for access.Affected if Multi-factor authentication is disabled or identity verification is not properly enforced
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Review access logs for unauthorized accessExamine the Alice 6 system audit logs, access logs, and event logs for signs of unauthorized access, failed authentication attempts, or access from unexpected user accounts, particularly attempts that succeeded without proper credential validation.Affected if Logs show successful authentications that bypassed normal verification or unauthorized access to patient data
You are affected if you have a Philips Alice 6 System running firmware version r8.0.2 or earlier, especially if authentication controls are not properly enforced.
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 dataImplement strong multi-factor authentication and proper identity verification mechanisms. Contact Philips for vendor-specific patches and guidance, as this is a medical device requiring FDA-regulated remediation.
- Consultation12.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing20.0 h
- Review / QA12.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5451 — 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-2018-5451 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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