CVE-2018-6438
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 Vulnerability in the supportsave command of Brocade Fabric OS command line interface (CLI) versions before 8.2.1, 8.1.2f, 8.0.2f, 7.4.2d could allow a local attacker to escape the restricted shell and, gain root access.
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 local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Brocade Fabric OS CLI where the supportsave command lacks proper validation, allowing an authenticated local attacker to escape the restricted shell (rbash) and execute commands as root. The attacker requires CLI access but can escalate from a restricted user account to full root privileges.
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>= 7.4.2, < 7.4.2d>= 8.0.2, < 8.0.2f>= 8.1.2, < 8.1.2f>= 8.2.0, < 8.2.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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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Check Fabric OS versionLog into the Fabric OS CLI and run the command to display the firmware version (typically 'version' or 'firmwaresw'). Compare the displayed version against the affected ranges: 7.4.2 to 7.4.2c, 8.0.2 to 8.0.2e, 8.1.2 to 8.1.2e, or 8.2.0.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed version ranges.
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Identify CLI user accountsReview the list of configured local user accounts on the switch using the CLI user management commands (such as 'userconfig --show' or similar). Note which accounts have restricted or limited shell access.Affected if There are user accounts with CLI access beyond trusted administrative personnel.
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Verify supportsave command accessAs a restricted (non-root) user with CLI access, attempt to invoke the supportsave command or check its availability in the command help/usage listings.Affected if The supportsave command is accessible to authenticated non-privileged users.
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Confirm rbash restriction is in placeAs a restricted user, verify that the shell is operating in restricted mode (rbash) by attempting a simple command escape (e.g., running 'cd /' or using pipe operators to external binaries).Affected if The restricted user session appears to enforce rbash but may have the vulnerability that allows escape.
Your environment is affected if the Fabric OS version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND non-administrative users have CLI access to the supportsave command.
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 data7.4.2d8.0.2f8.1.2f
Upgrade Brocade Fabric OS to version 8.2.1, 8.1.2f, 8.0.2f, or 7.4.2d or later. Restrict CLI access to trusted personnel and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2018-6438 — 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-2018-6438 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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