# CVE-2018-18979: Hardcoded credentials in n/a

> Attackers can decrypt medical data by exploiting a hardcoded initialization vector in the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE Android app.

- **Severity:** High 7.4 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 May 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2h45-prfj-x4ff

## What is CVE-2018-18979?

CVE-2018-18979 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 May 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE application for Android before 2019-01-15. It has a statically coded initialization vector. Extraction of the initialization vector is necessary for deciphering communications between this application and the backend server. This, in combination with retrieving any user's encrypted data from the Ascensia cloud through another vulnerability, allows an attacker to obtain and modify any patient's medical information.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-18979?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ascensia Contour Diabetes.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-18979?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-18979 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-18979 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-18979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-18975](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18975/): Weak cryptography in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-18977](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18977/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2018-18978](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18978/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2018-18976](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18976/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-18979 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-18979 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 May 2019. 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-2018-18979 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-2018-18979/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18979/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-18979
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-18979
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-18979

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18979/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.