CVE-2018-6695
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 · uneditedSSH host keys generation vulnerability in the server in McAfee Threat Intelligence Exchange Server (TIE Server) 1.3.0, 2.0.x, 2.1.x, 2.2.0 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers via acquiring keys from another environment.
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 · moderate confidenceThe TIE Server generates SSH host keys with insufficient randomness or entropy, potentially allowing identical or predictable keys to be generated across different installations. An attacker who obtains the host key from one environment (or can predict it) can perform a man-in-the-middle attack by presenting the same key, tricking clients into trusting the malicious server.
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>= 2.0.0, <= 2.0.1>= 2.1.0, <= 2.1.1= 1.3.0= 2.2.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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.
-
Identify TIE Server installationLocate McAfee TIE Server components. Check for installation directories such as /opt/McAfee/tie or review installed packages using the system package manager (rpm, dpkg) for tie-server or mcafeetie packages.Affected if McAfee Threat Intelligence Exchange Server is not installed on the system.
-
Check installed TIE Server versionRun command to retrieve the installed version, such as: rpm -q mcafeetie-server or dpkg -l | grep tie, or check /opt/McAfee/tie/version if the directory exists.Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 1.3.0, 2.0.0-2.0.1, 2.1.0-2.1.1, or 2.2.0.
-
Locate SSH host keysCheck the SSH host key files. Typical locations: /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key, /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key. If TIE Server uses a custom SSH configuration, identify that directory.Affected if SSH host key files exist on the TIE Server system.
-
Inspect SSH host key entropy indicatorsExamine the SSH host keys for potential entropy issues: check file sizes (run ls -la /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*), view the keys (cat /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key) to see if they appear to have repetitive patterns or look unusually short. Use ssh-keygen -lf /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key to verify key length.Affected if Keys are shorter than expected (e.g., RSA key less than 2048 bits) or display patterns suggesting low entropy.
You are affected if this system runs McAfee TIE Server version 1.3.0, 2.0.0-2.0.1, 2.1.0-2.1.1, or 2.2.0, and the SSH host keys may be identical to those on other installations or show signs of insufficient entropy.
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 dataRegenerate SSH host keys on all affected TIE Server instances and update client known_hosts entries to prevent MITM attacks. Ensure the new keys are unique per installation.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $3,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6695 — 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-2018-6695 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data