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Full vulnerability report · 2018
CVE-2018-1196High confidence

Dell EMC Spring Boot: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Dell EMC · Spring Boot

5.9MediumCVSS 3.0
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Fix not verified
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2018-0721

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Spring Boot supports an embedded launch script that can be used to easily run the application as a systemd or init.d linux service. The script included with Spring Boot 1.5.9 and earlier and 2.0.0.M1 through 2.0.0.M7 is susceptible to a symlink attack which allows the "run_user" to overwrite and take ownership of any file on the same system. In order to instigate the attack, the application must be installed as a service and the "run_user" requires shell access to the server. Spring Boot application that are not installed as a service, or are not using the embedded launch script are not susceptible.

What

Spring Boot supports an embedded launch script that can be used to easily run the application as a systemd or init.d linux service. The script included with Spring Boot 1.5.9 and earlier and 2.0.0.M1 through 2.0.0.M7 is susceptible to a symlink attack which allows the "run_user" to overwrite and take ownership of any file on the same system. In order to instigate the attack, the application must be installed as a service and the "run_user" requires shell access to the server. Spring Boot application that are not installed as a service, or are not using the embedded launch script are not susceptible.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Spring Boot supports an embedded launch script that can be used to easily run the application as a systemd or init.d linux service. The script included with Spring Boot 1.5.9 and earlier and 2.0.0.M1 through 2.0.0.M7 is susceptible to a symlink attack which allows the "run_user" to overwrite and take ownership of any file on the same system. In order to instigate the attack, the application must be installed as a service and the "run_user" requires shell access to the server. Spring Boot application that are not installed as a service, or are not using the embedded launch script are not susceptible.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-59

CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'). The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-59
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2024-0528Dell Data Protection Advisor: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Dell Data Protection Advisor ausnutzen, um beliebigen Code auszuführen, einen Denial-of-Service-Zustand herbeizuführen, Dateien zu manipulieren, vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen, seine Berechtigungen zu erweitern oder einen nicht spezifizierten Angriff durchzuführen.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2025-AVI-0756Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits VMware

rg/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3613 Référence CVE CVE-2017-3614 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3614 Référence CVE CVE-2017-3615 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3615 Référence CVE CVE-2017-3616 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3616 Référence CVE CVE-2017-3617 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3617 Référence CVE CVE-2017-7500 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7500 Référence CVE CVE-2017-7501 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7501 Référence CVE CVE-2017-8046 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-8046 Référence CVE CVE-2018-1000169 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1000169 Référence CVE CVE-2018-1196 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1196 Référence CVE CVE-2018-1273 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1273 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3137 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3137 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3145 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3145 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3170 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3170 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3182 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3182 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3186 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3186 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3195 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3195 Référence CVE CVE-2018-3203 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-3203 Ré

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2018-003482Spring Boot におけるリンク解釈に関する脆弱性

Spring Boot には、リンク解釈に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
Spring Boot: 1.5.0 - 1.5.9, 2.0.0.M1 - 2.0.0.M7
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 19 Mar 2018 · Last source change 16 Sept 2024, 17:27 UTC · CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2018-0721
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed from no authoritative guidance recorded to vendor advisory.
    Before
    no authoritative guidance recorded
    After
    vendor advisory
    af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  2. SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to Medium.
    Before
    Unknown
    After
    Medium
    NIST NVD
  3. CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 5.9 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    5.9 (CVSS 3.0 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
    NIST NVD
  4. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2018-0721 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2018-0721"}
    ENISA EUVD
  5. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    CNA
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2018-1196 · cve.blacktree.nl