CVE-2018-8838
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 weakness in access controls in CENTUM CS 1000 all versions, CENTUM CS 3000 versions R3.09.50 and earlier, CENTUM CS 3000 Small versions R3.09.50 and earlier, CENTUM VP versions R6.03.10 and earlier, CENTUM VP Small versions R6.03.10 and earlier, CENTUM VP Basic versions R6.03.10 and earlier, Exaopc versions R3.75.00 and earlier, B/M9000 CS all versions, and B/M9000 VP versions R8.01.01 and earlier may allow a local attacker to exploit the message management function of the system. A CVSS v3 base score of 6.5 has been calculated; the CVSS vector string is (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H).
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 confidenceThis is an access control weakness in Yokogawa CENTUM CS/VP distributed control systems (multiple versions) affecting the message management function. A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this to gain elevated privileges, potentially compromising system integrity and availability (high impact to both). The attack requires local access but has high complexity and no user interaction needed.
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 dataall versions<= r8.01.01<= r3.09.50<= r6.03.10<= r3.75.00CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 Yokogawa productLocate and inspect the installed Yokogawa DCS software on the system. Check Program Files or installation directories for CENTUM CS, CENTUM VP, B/m9000 CS, B/m9000 VP, or Exaopc components. Use system inventory tools or check Add/Remove Programs for Yokogawa entries.Affected if Any of the following products are installed: B/m9000 CS (any version), B/m9000 VP (version r8.01.01 or lower), CENTUM CS 3000 (version r3.09.50 or lower), CENTUM VP (version r6.03.10 or lower), or Exaopc (version r3.75.00 or lower)
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Determine exact product versionAccess the product's about or version information panel within the DCS software interface, or check the executable file properties of the main program (typically found in the installation directory). Compare the version number against the affected ranges provided.Affected if The installed version falls within or below these thresholds: B/m9000 VP r8.01.01, CENTUM CS 3000 r3.09.50, CENTUM VP r6.03.10, or Exaopc r3.75.00 (or any version of B/m9000 CS)
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Verify message management function is accessibleLocate the message management function or module within the Yokogawa DCS software. Check if the msgmgmt, message management, or alarm handling component is present and loaded in the system. Inspect configuration files related to messaging (typically found in the config or system subdirectory of the installation).Affected if The message management function exists and is loaded in the environment (this is the vulnerable component)
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Check user account privilegesReview local user accounts and their assigned privileges on the system where the Yokogawa software runs. Use Windows User Manager or 'net user' commands to enumerate accounts. Identify if low-privilege accounts exist that could potentially access the message management function.Affected if Low-privilege user accounts exist on the system with access to the DCS environment (the attacker would use these)
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Inspect access control configurationExamine the security or access control configuration files within the Yokogawa installation directory. Look for permissions settings on the message management module or function. Verify if the system relies on built-in Windows ACLs or application-level controls for privilege separation.Affected if Access controls on the message management function are not properly restricting low-privilege users from elevated operations
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Yokogawa products within the specified version ranges and has the message management function enabled, particularly if low-privilege local users can access that component.
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 vendor patches for affected versions (R3.09.50 and earlier for CS 3000, R6.03.10 and earlier for VP, etc.). Restrict physical and logical access to the message management function and implement least-privilege access controls.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8838 — 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-2018-8838 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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