CVE-2018-8856

Philips e-Alert Unit (non-medical device), Version R2.1 and prior. The software contains hard-coded cryptographic key, which it uses for encryption of internal data.

Published: 2018-09-26 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-8856 is rated Moderate Risk (64.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.38%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-8856

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 0.39% 1.38% +0.99%
2 2025-12-24 0.53% 0.39% -0.14%
3 2025-08-27 0.53%

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-8856

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N 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:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-8856

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-8856

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
philips e-alert_firmware <= r2.1 cpe:2.3:o:philips:e-alert_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-8856

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105194 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-242-01 Mitigation Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/about/customer-support/product-security Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence