# CVE-2018-1649: Path traversal in QRadar Incident Forensics

> Remote attackers can traverse directories to view arbitrary files on IBM QRadar Incident Forensics systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.0/A:N/AC:L/AV:N/C:H/I:N/PR:L/S:C/UI:N/E:U/RC:C/RL:O`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Oct 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h73r-4785-f9hp

## What is CVE-2018-1649?

CVE-2018-1649 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in IBM QRadar Incident Forensics, published on 5 Oct 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM QRadar Incident Forensics 7.2 and 7.3 could allow a remote attacker to traverse directories on the system. An attacker could send a specially-crafted URL request containing "dot dot" sequences (/../) to view arbitrary files on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 144655.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-1649?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Qradar Incident Forensics.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-1649?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-1649 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-1649 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1649 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM QRadar Incident Forensics

- [CVE-2016-9726](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9726/): Command injection in IBM Security QRadar SIEM 7.1 MR1, 7.1, 7.0, 7.2, 7.1 MR2, 7, 7.1 MR2, 7.2.3 (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-9727](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9727/): Command injection in QRadar SIEM (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2025-33120](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-33120/): IBM QRadar SIEM privilege escalation (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-1648](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1648/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-1647](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1647/): Denial of service in QRadar Incident Forensics (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-1649 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-1649 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in IBM QRadar Incident Forensics, published on 5 Oct 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1649 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM QRadar Incident Forensics. 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-2018-1649/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1649/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1649
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1649
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-1649

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1649/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.