# CVE-2018-11053: iSM: Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module Improper File Permission Vulnerability

> Dell iDRAC Service Module incorrectly sets /etc/hosts permissions to world-writable, allowing local users to redirect traffic to malicious sites.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-ppf5-mgf6-gfp3

## What is CVE-2018-11053?

CVE-2018-11053 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module, published on 26 Jun 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module for all supported Linux and XenServer versions v3.0.1, v3.0.2, v3.1.0, v3.2.0, when started, changes the default file permission of the hosts file of the host operating system (/etc/hosts) to world writable. A malicious low privileged operating system user or process could modify the host file and potentially redirect traffic from the intended destination to sites hosting malicious or unwanted content.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-11053?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dell Emc Idrac Service Module.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-11053?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-11053 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-11053 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-11053 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module

- [CVE-2025-38743](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38743/): Memory corruption in iDRAC Service Module (iSM) (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-22428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22428/): Privilege escalation in iDRAC Service Module (iSM) (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2024-38490](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38490/): Memory corruption in iDRAC Service Module (iSM) (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2025-38742](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38742/): Privilege escalation in iDRAC Service Module (iSM) (medium 5.3)
- [CVE-2024-25947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25947/): Memory corruption in iDRAC Service Module (iSM) (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-11053 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-11053 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module, published on 26 Jun 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-11053 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell EMC iDRAC Service Module. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11053/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11053/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11053
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11053
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-11053

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11053/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.