CVE-2018-5457
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 · uneditedA uncontrolled search path element issue was discovered in Vyaire Medical CareFusion Upgrade Utility used with Windows XP systems, Versions 2.0.2.2 and prior versions. A successful exploit of this vulnerability requires the local user to install a crafted DLL on the target machine. The application loads the DLL and gives the attacker access at the same privilege level as the application.
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 confidenceThis is a DLL hijacking (uncontrolled search path) vulnerability in the CareFusion Upgrade Utility. The application loads DLLs without using secure, explicit paths, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in a directory the application searches (such as the application directory or system PATH) before the legitimate DLL. When the application runs, it loads the attacker's DLL with the same privilege level as the application.
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<= 2.0.2.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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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Confirm if CareFusion Upgrade Utility is installedCheck for the presence of the application in typical installation locations such as C:\Program Files\Vyaire\CareFusion Upgrade Utility or C:\Program Files (x86)\Vyaire\CareFusion Upgrade Utility. Also check Add/Remove Programs or the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'Vyaire CareFusion Upgrade Utility' or similar.Affected if The application is found installed on the system
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Determine the installed versionLocate the executable (typically UpgradeUtility.exe) in the installation directory and right-click to view Properties, then check the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, check the version value in the Windows Registry under the Uninstall key for this application.Affected if The version is 2.0.2.2 or lower
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Identify the application directory and verify write accessLocate the folder where UpgradeUtility.exe resides. Right-click the folder, select Properties, and check the Security tab to see which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions.Affected if Users other than trusted administrators have Write or Modify permissions to the application directory
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Check system PATH for writable locationsOpen Command Prompt and run 'echo %PATH%' to view the system PATH directories. For each directory listed, verify write access by checking folder permissions or attempting to create a test file in a subdirectory.Affected if Any directory in the system PATH is writable by non-privileged users
The system is affected if Vyaire CareFusion Upgrade Utility version 2.0.2.2 or lower is installed and either the application directory or any directory in the system PATH is writable by users who are not trusted administrators, since an attacker could place a malicious DLL in such a location for the application to load.
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 dataPrimary mitigation is to obtain an updated version of the software from the vendor that fixes the insecure DLL loading. If a fix is unavailable, restrict write access to the application directory and ensure only trusted administrators can modify system PATH. The proper remediation requires code changes to implement secure DLL loading with explicit full paths and DLL verification.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2018-5457 — 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-2018-5457 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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