CVE-2018-1437 [High] | Security Vulnerability in Notes

IBM Notes 8.5 and 9.0 could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by an error related to multiple untrusted search path. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to DLL hijacking to execute arbitrary code on the system or cause the application to crash. IBM X-Force ID: 139565.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-04-09	0.24%	0.25%	+0.02%
2	2025-03-30	0.42%	0.24%	-0.18%
3	2025-03-29	—	0.42%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-04-09

0.24%

0.25%

+0.02%

2025-03-30

0.42%

0.24%

-0.18%

2025-03-29

—

0.42%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.0	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. 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:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. 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.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
7.8	3.0	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. 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:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. 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.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
9.3	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	8.6	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

7.8

3.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

9.3

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

8.6

10.0

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-1437

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
ibm	notes	8.5	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.0.2	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.0.2:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.1	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.1:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.1.5	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.1.5:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.2	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.2:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.2.4	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.2.4:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.3	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.3:::::::*
ibm	notes	8.5.3.6	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:8.5.3.6:::::::*
ibm	notes	9.0	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:9.0:::::::*
ibm	notes	9.0.1	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:9.0.1:::::::*
ibm	notes	9.0.1.9	cpe:2.3:a:ibm:notes:9.0.1.9:::::::*

References for CVE-2018-1437

URL	Tags
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg22014201	Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103401	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040563	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/139565	VDB Entry Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2018-1437

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-1437

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-1437

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-1437

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-1437

References for CVE-2018-1437