CVE-2018-12465 | Remote Code Execution in Micro Focus Secure Messaging Gateway

Exp

An OS command injection vulnerability in the web administration component of Micro Focus Secure Messaging Gateway (SMG) allows a remote attacker authenticated as a privileged user to execute arbitrary OS commands on the SMG server. This can be exploited in conjunction with CVE-2018-12464 to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution. Affects Micro Focus Secure Messaging Gateway versions prior to 471. It does not affect previous versions of the product that used GWAVA product name (i.e. GWAVA 6.5).

Published: 2018-06-29 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-12465 is rated High Exploit Risk (83/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 78.95%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2018-12465

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
45083 exploit_db edb 2018-07-24 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-12465

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 82.23% 78.95% -3.28%
2 2026-01-13 82.67% 82.23% -0.44%
3 2025-12-15 82.67%

Full EPSS history (21 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-12465

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.1 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.3 6.0 [email protected]
7.2 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.2 5.9 [email protected]
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-12465

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-12465

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microfocus secure_messaging_gateway < 471 cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:secure_messaging_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-12465

cvelogic Threat Intelligence