CVE-2018-8833
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities in Advantech WebAccess HMI Designer 2.1.7.32 and prior caused by processing specially crafted .pm3 files may allow remote code execution.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Advantech WebAccess HMI Designer 2.1.7.32 and prior when parsing specially crafted .pm3 project files. The parsing logic fails to properly validate buffer boundaries when processing the file structure, allowing an attacker to overflow heap memory and potentially achieve remote code execution.
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<= 2.1.7.32CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 installed WebAccess HMI Designer versionOpen the application and navigate to Help > About, or check the program's file properties (right-click the executable > Properties > Details) to locate the version numberAffected if The version listed is 2.1.7.32 or any version prior to it
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Locate the WebAccess HMI Designer executableSearch for files named 'WebAccess HMI Designer.exe' or similar variants in Program Files directories (typically C:\Program Files\Advantech\WebAccess HMI Designer\)Affected if The executable exists and its version matches the vulnerable range (<=2.1.7.32)
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Determine if .pm3 project files are processedSearch the system for .pm3 files or check recent project files opened by the application in user directories or application data foldersAffected if The software is used to open or has recently opened .pm3 project files, indicating the vulnerable parsing code is exercised
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Review application logs for file parsing errorsCheck application logs in the WebAccess HMI Designer installation directory or user AppData folder for entries related to .pm3 file loading or parsing failuresAffected if Logs show repeated parsing errors or crashes when loading .pm3 files, suggesting the vulnerable code path is active
If the installed WebAccess HMI Designer version is 2.1.7.32 or earlier AND the software is used to open .pm3 project files, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unverified .pm3 files in WebAccess HMI Designer. Upgrade to a patched version when available. Consider network segmentation if this software operates in industrial environments.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2018-8833 — 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-2018-8833 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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