CVE-2018-7063
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 Aruba ClearPass, disabled API admins can still perform read/write operations. In certain circumstances, API admins in ClearPass which have been disabled may still be able to perform read/write operations on parts of the XML API. This can lead to unauthorized access to the API and complete compromise of the ClearPass instance if an attacker knows of the existence of these accounts.
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 confidenceAruba ClearPass has an authorization bypass vulnerability where API admin accounts that have been disabled can still perform XML API read/write operations. The authentication logic fails to properly check account disabled status before allowing API access, enabling attackers who know disabled account credentials to maintain unauthorized access and potentially fully compromise the ClearPass instance.
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< 6.6.10>= 6.7.0, < 6.7.3CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 ClearPass Policy Manager versionAccess the ClearPass administration web UI and navigate to Administration > Server Manager > Server Configuration, or run 'show version' via CLI to determine the installed version number.Affected if Version is less than 6.6.10, or between 6.7.0 and 6.7.3 inclusive
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Enumerate API admin accounts and their statusNavigate to Administration > User Management > Admin Users in the ClearPass web UI. Review each admin user account and note whether each is marked as 'Enabled' or 'Disabled', and whether they have XML API access permissions.Affected if Any admin user account with API access permissions is in a 'Disabled' state
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Review API access logs for disabled account activityAccess the ClearPass logging interface at Monitoring > Logs > Audit Logs, or check the XML API access logs. Search for API operations performed by accounts that are currently disabled.Affected if API operations are logged from accounts showing as disabled in the user management interface
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Test API access with a known disabled accountIf you have a disabled API admin account credential, attempt to send an authenticated XML API request (such as a GET or POST to the /api/ endpoint) using those credentials to verify whether the request is accepted.Affected if The API accepts authentication and returns successful responses using disabled account credentials
You are affected if your ClearPass version falls within the vulnerable range AND you have any disabled admin accounts with API access that can still successfully authenticate to the XML API.
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 data6.6.106.7.3
Immediately disable or remove any unused API admin accounts and review all disabled accounts for potential unauthorized access. Apply vendor patches when available and implement additional monitoring on API activity.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7063 — 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-2018-7063 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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