CVE-2018-7279
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 remote code execution issue was discovered in AlienVault USM and OSSIM before 5.5.1.
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 critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in AlienVault USM and OSSIM versions prior to 5.5.1. With a CVSS score of 9.8, this vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems.
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< 5.5.1< 5.5.1CVSS 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
- 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.
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Identify the installed AlienVault productRun 'dpkg -l | grep alienvault' or check /etc/ossim/ossim_setup.conf for OSSIM, or look for USM-specific packagesAffected if The system has AlienVault OSSIM or USM installed
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Determine the installed version numberRun 'alienvault-api --version' or check /etc/alienvault-release for the exact version stringAffected if The displayed version is below 5.5.1 (e.g., 5.4.x, 5.3.x, etc.)
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Verify the management interface accessibilityCheck if the AlienVault web interface (port 443) is listening on external interfaces using 'netstat -tlnp | grep -E ':(443|80)\s' or review firewall rulesAffected if The management interface is bound to a non-loopback address or firewall allows external access to ports 80/443
You are affected if AlienVault OSSIM or USM is installed with a version number lower than 5.5.1 and the management interface is network-accessible.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.5.1
Upgrade AlienVault USM/OSSIM to version 5.5.1 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface and monitor for indicators of compromise.
AlienVault USM and OSSIM version 5.5.1
- Back up all AlienVault USM/OSSIM configurations, data, and database before initiating any upgrade
- Download AlienVault USM or OSSIM version 5.5.1 from the official AlienVault download portal at alienvault.com
- Review the official AlienVault upgrade documentation for your specific product (USM or OSSIM)
- Execute the upgrade process following the documented upgrade procedure for your deployment type
- Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version number in the web interface or command line
- Confirm all services are running normally and the security sensor functionality is operational
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7279 — 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-2018-7279 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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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