CVE-2018-8870
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 · uneditedMedtronic 24950 MyCareLink Monitor and 24952 MyCareLink Monitor contains a hard-coded operating system password. An attacker with physical access can remove the case of the device, connect to the debug port, and use the password to gain privileged access to the operating system.
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 confidenceThe Medtronic MyCareLink Monitor models 24950 and 24952 contain a hard-coded operating system password embedded in the firmware. An attacker with physical access can remove the device case, connect to the debug port, and use this hardcoded credential to obtain privileged (root) access to the underlying operating system.
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 versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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 if you have the affected Medtronic device modelsLocate the physical MyCareLink Monitor device or check your device inventory for model numbers 24950 or 24952. The model number is typically printed on a label on the device casing.Affected if You possess or manage any MyCareLink Monitor model 24950 or 24952 device
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Confirm the device is operationalCheck whether the identified device is currently powered on, connected, and in use within your environment or facility.Affected if The device is deployed and operational
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Assess physical access controlsInspect the physical location where the device is placed. Determine whether the device case is secured and whether unauthorized individuals could access the device housing to remove the case.Affected if Physical access controls are insufficient to prevent unauthorized case removal
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Evaluate debug port accessibilityExamine the device exterior for accessible debug ports (such as serial or JTAG ports) that could be reached after removing the case. Document whether these ports are exposed or protected.Affected if Debug ports are accessible and could be connected to by an attacker with physical access
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Determine network exposureReview network segmentation and access controls to assess whether the device is isolated from sensitive network segments, limiting the impact if the device is compromised.Affected if The device is on a network segment that would allow a compromised device to communicate with sensitive systems
You are affected if you have any Medtronic MyCareLink Monitor model 24950 or 24952 device in your environment, regardless of firmware version, since all versions contain the hardcoded credential 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 dataContact Medtronic for firmware updates that address the hardcoded credential; implement physical access controls to restrict unauthorized access to the device debug ports; consider network segmentation to limit exposure if physical compromise occurs.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 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 $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8870 — 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-2018-8870 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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