CVE-2018-7120
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 security vulnerability in the HPE Virtual Connect SE 16Gb Fibre Channel Module for HPE Synergy running firmware 5.00.50, which is part of the HPE Synergy Custom SPP 2018.11.20190205, could allow local or remote unauthorized elevation of privilege.
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 confidenceA privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the HPE Virtual Connect SE 16Gb Fibre Channel Module for HPE Synergy running firmware version 5.00.50. The vulnerability allows local or remote unauthorized attackers to gain elevated privileges, potentially compromising the entire Virtual Connect management plane and attached storage infrastructure.
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= 5.00.50CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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.
-
Identify HPE Virtual Connect FC moduleLog into HPE OneView or HPE Synergy Composer and navigate to the SAN managers or interconnect sections to list all Fibre Channel modules. Confirm the presence of 'Virtual Connect SE 16Gb Fibre Channel Module for HPE Synergy'.Affected if The module is present in the inventory
-
Locate firmware versionIn HPE OneView, select the interconnect or FC module and view the firmware version field. Alternatively, access the module directly via its management interface (SSH or web GUI) and run 'show firmware' or check the System Information page.Affected if Firmware version cannot be determined or is not visible
-
Compare installed version to affected rangeTake the firmware version number identified in the previous step and compare it directly to 5.00.50. Ensure an exact match - version numbers must be compared character for character.Affected if The firmware version is exactly 5.00.50
You are affected if you have deployed an HPE Virtual Connect SE 16Gb Fibre Channel Module for HPE Synergy and its firmware version is exactly 5.00.50.
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 dataApply the appropriate firmware update from HPE's support portal to upgrade from version 5.00.50 to a patched version. Schedule the update during a planned maintenance window as firmware changes to Fibre Channel modules may cause brief service disruptions.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7120 — 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-2018-7120 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