# CVE-2018-12596: Missing authorization in n/a

> Remote attackers can access restricted admin pages in Episerver Ektron CMS, bypassing authorization controls to perform privileged actions.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Oct 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pp88-5vm8-r9cr

## What is CVE-2018-12596?

CVE-2018-12596 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 Oct 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Episerver Ektron CMS before 9.0 SP3 Site CU 31, 9.1 before SP3 Site CU 45, or 9.2 before SP2 Site CU 22 allows remote attackers to call aspx pages via the "activateuser.aspx" page, even if a page is located under the /WorkArea/ path, which is forbidden (normally available exclusively for local admins).

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12596?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Episerver Ektron Cms.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12596?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-12596 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-12596 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12596 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Ektron Content Management System (CMS) 9.20 SP2, remote re-enabling users (CVE-2018–12596) (github_poc): https://github.com/alt3kx/CVE-2018-12596
- Ektron CMS 9.20 SP2 - Improper Access Restrictions (exploitdb)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12596 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12596 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 Oct 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12596 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2018-12596/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12596/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12596
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12596
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12596

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12596/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.