CVE-2018-11538

Public exploit available. Not confirmed exploited in the wild yet. No fix published yet.

CVSS 3.08.8High EPSS percentile96th12% chance in 30 days CISA KEVNot listedNo confirmed exploitation
Public exploit: 3 sources FixNone yetNo fix or workaround published

Published 2018-06-01Updated 2024-11-21Sources: CVE.org, NVD

NVD CVE.org

What to do

No fixed build or workaround is published yet. Limit exposure and watch for a patch.

Steps

Written by AI from the record

Confirm whether you run SearchBlox 8.6.6 and whether its UserServlet endpoint is exposed.
Ask SearchBlox or your software provider for a security update; no fixed version is currently available in the published findings.
Until an update is available, restrict access to the UserServlet endpoint where business operations allow it.
Review recent account password and role-permission changes for unexpected activity.

May need vendor or contractor work

Is your organisation exposed?Request an assessment to establish which checks fit your systems.

What it is

From the CVE record

servlet/UserServlet in SearchBlox 8.6.6 has CSRF via the u_name, u_passwd1, u_passwd2, role, and X-XSRF-TOKEN POST parameters because of CSRF Token Bypass.

In plain language

Written by AI from the record

SearchBlox 8.6.6 has a flaw that can let a malicious webpage make a signed-in user change account settings, so businesses using it should act.

CSRF token bypass in the SearchBlox 8.6.6 UserServlet permits forged network POST requests that alter usernames, passwords, and role permissions when a logged-in victim visits an attacker-controlled page.

If you're affected

Unauthorized password changes
Unauthorized role changes
Account administration disruption

What is it

This is a weakness in the part of SearchBlox that manages user accounts. It is like someone slipping a forged instruction into a stack of paperwork that an already-authorized employee unknowingly approves, potentially changing passwords or access permissions.

Who is affected

This matters to you if you run SearchBlox 8.6.6. It requires a user to already be signed in and to visit a crafted page, and is only a risk if the UserServlet endpoint is exposed.

How urgent is it

Public attack examples are available, so treat this as an important near-term remediation. It is not listed as actively exploited by the U.S. government’s known-exploited-vulnerabilities catalog, but exposed installations should be reviewed promptly.

What to do — in detail

Confirm the deployed SearchBlox version and determine whether servlet/UserServlet is reachable through the application or a reverse proxy. The published information identifies SearchBlox 8.6.6; no vendor fixed version or supported branch guidance is available, so obtain remediation guidance directly from SearchBlox before planning an upgrade.

If patching is delayed, restrict external access to the UserServlet endpoint where compatible with operations, and limit account-administration access to trusted networks. Review application and account-management records for unexpected changes to usernames, passwords, and roles. No CISA KEV remediation due date applies because this CVE is not listed in KEV.

Technical context

CVE-2018-11538 is rated CVSS 8.8 High and is a CWE-352 cross-site request forgery issue. A network attacker can exploit a CSRF-token bypass in servlet/UserServlet by inducing a logged-in victim to submit forged POST parameters including account and role fields; user interaction is required. Three public exploits are known. EPSS predicts a 12.7% likelihood of exploitation and is rising (96th percentile). It is not listed in CISA KEV, so confirmed exploitation is not established by the available findings.

This is a general assessment based on public vulnerability data. It does not account for your specific infrastructure — when in doubt, consult a security specialist.

Exploitation

Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.

EPSS96th

Public exploit

CISA KEV

Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.

Public exploits

3 sources with a proof of concept or module.

Exploit links, PoCs and Metasploit modules after sign-in

EPSS

12% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 96th percentile of scored CVEs.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.

Lifecycle

23 events over 3036 days, from the signal feeds we watch.

2026-09-23EPSS band changelow → moderateepss band change
2026-09-21EPSS band changemoderate → lowepss band change
2026-09-06EPSS band change0 → moderateepss band change
2026-09-05EPSS band changemoderate → 0epss band change
2026-08-31EPSS band change0 → moderateepss band change
2026-08-29EPSS band changemoderate → low

Affected products

searchbloxcommercialaka search-blox
- searchbloxSaaSCloud & SaaS / saas-application

And 1 more affected product. See all after sign-in

Technical detail

CVSS 3.0 vector

Open in the CVSS calculator

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

Scored 8.8 by NVD.

How it is reached

Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
User Interaction RequiredA user must click a link, open a file, or perform some action

Scope

Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself

Impact if exploited

Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable