CVE-2018-6441
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 Secure Shell implementation of Brocade Fabric OS versions before 8.2.1, 8.1.2f, 8.0.2f, 7.4.2d could allow a local attacker to provide arbitrary environment variables, and bypass the restricted configuration shell.
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 attacker with SSH access to Brocade Fabric OS can inject arbitrary environment variables through the SSH implementation, which allows bypassing the restricted configuration shell (rsh) and gaining elevated 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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Identify the Fabric OS versionRun the command 'version' or 'firmwareShow' on the Brocade switch CLI to obtain the installed Fabric OS version.Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these 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 to 8.2.0.
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Confirm the product is Broadcom Fabric OSRun the 'chassisShow' or 'model' command to verify the device is a Brocade/Broadcom Fabric OS switch.Affected if The device runs Broadcom Fabric Operating System (formerly Brocade).
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Verify SSH service is enabledRun the command 'sshUtil status' or check the SSH configuration via 'ipSsh' and 'ipSshPort' settings to confirm the SSH service is active.Affected if SSH is enabled on the device, as this is required for the attacker to inject environment variables.
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Check for restricted shell (rsh) configurationInspect the admin user configuration with 'userConfigShow' or check if 'rsh' or restricted shell access is configured for any user accounts.Affected if A restricted shell (rsh) is in use, as the vulnerability allows bypassing this restriction.
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Confirm SSH-based login capabilityAttempt to log in via SSH or review authentication logs for recent SSH connections using valid credentials.Affected if SSH login with valid credentials is possible, which is a prerequisite for the local attacker to exploit this vulnerability.
The environment is affected if the device runs Broadcom Fabric OS versions 7.4.2 through 7.4.2c, 8.0.2 through 8.0.2e, 8.1.2 through 8.1.2e, or 8.2.0 through 8.2.0, and SSH access is enabled.
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, 7.4.2d or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2018-6441 — 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-2018-6441 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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