# CVE-2018-6885: Path traversal in n/a

> Unauthenticated path traversal in MicroStrategy Web Services allows attackers to read sensitive files, potentially leading to remote code execution.

- **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:** 14 May 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qf6c-cgr9-wg5h

## What is CVE-2018-6885?

CVE-2018-6885 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 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 MicroStrategy Web Services (the Microsoft Office plugin) before 10.4 Hotfix 7, and before 10.11. The vulnerability is unauthenticated and leads to access to the asset files with the MicroStrategy user privileges. (This includes the credentials to access the admin dashboard which may lead to RCE.) The path traversal is located in a SOAP request in the web service component.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-6885?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microstrategy Web Services.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-6885?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-6885 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-6885 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-6885 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-6885 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-6885 is a critical path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 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-2018-6885 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-2018-6885/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6885/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-6885
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-6885
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-6885

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6885/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.