# CVE-2018-16497: Privilege escalation in Versa Analytics

> A local attacker in the versa group can escalate privileges to root by modifying a script executed by a root cron job in Versa Analytics.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 May 2021
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wm88-xgp8-jvpf

## What is CVE-2018-16497?

CVE-2018-16497 is a high-severity vulnerability in Versa Analytics, published on 26 May 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Versa Analytics, the cron jobs are used for scheduling tasks by executing commands at specific dates and times on the server. If the job is run as the user root, there is a potential privilege escalation vulnerability. In this case, the job runs a script as root that is writable by users who are members of the versa group.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16497?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Versa-Networks Versa Analytics.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16497?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-16497 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-16497 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Versa Analytics

- [CVE-2019-25030](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-25030/): Weak cryptography in Versa Director, Versa Analytics, Versa VOS (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16497 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16497 is a high-severity vulnerability in Versa Analytics, published on 26 May 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16497 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Versa Analytics. 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-2018-16497/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16497/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16497
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16497
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16497

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16497/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.