# CVE-2018-1217: Avamar, Integrated Data Protection Appliance - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2018-1217 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2018-1217

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** Dell Avamar, Integrated Data Protection Appliance
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)
- **Tags:** oob_management

## Description

Avamar Installation Manager in Dell EMC Avamar Server 7.3.1, 7.4.1, and 7.5.0, and Dell EMC Integrated Data Protection Appliance 2.0 and 2.1, is affected by a missing access control check vulnerability which could potentially allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to read or change the Local Download Service (LDLS) credentials. The LDLS credentials are used to connect to Dell EMC Online Support. If the LDLS configuration was changed to an invalid configuration, then Avamar Installation Manager may not be able to connect to Dell EMC Online Support web site successfully. The remote unauthenticated attacker can also read and use the credentials to login to Dell EMC Online Support, impersonating the AVI service actions using those credentials.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2018-1217](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2018-1217) is a critical vulnerability in Dell EMC Avamar Server and Integrated Data Protection Appliance that stems from missing access control checks in the Avamar Installation Manager. This flaw allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to read or modify Local Download Service (LDLS) credentials, potentially enabling them to impersonate service actions or disrupt connectivity to Dell EMC Online Support. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access, compromise sensitive credentials, and impact the integrity and availability of backup and support services.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 15th of October 2025.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2018-1217 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning.
Data from the CrowdSec community also indicates a gradual decrease in attacks targeting CVE-2018-1217. While still present in the wild, exploitation levels have dropped noticeably week-over-week. This may signal that the vulnerability is becoming less relevant or that defenses are improving fast enough for attackers to lose interest.

Attackers exploit unauthenticated POST requests to the `/avi/avigui/avigwt` endpoint, attempting to invoke the `getLDLSConfig` method in order to read or modify sensitive LDLS credentials.

## Timeline

- 2018-04-09: CVE Published. CVE-2018-1217 is published to NVD.
- 2025-10-15: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2018-1217 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-10-16: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2018-1217 for the first time.

## References

- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040641
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2018/Apr/14
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2018/CVE-2018-1217.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2018-1217) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2018-1217. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.