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CVE Record

CVE-2018-18979: An issue was discovered in the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE application for Android before 2019-01-15.

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.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw affected the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE Android app before 2019-01-15. A hard-coded cryptographic initialization vector weakened protection of app-to-cloud communications. By itself, the CVE describes a cryptographic weakness; when chained with another cloud data-retrieval flaw, sources say it could expose and alter patient medical information.

Executive priority

Treat this as a high-priority healthcare data integrity and privacy risk where legacy app use exists. Urgency is strongest for organizations supporting patient-owned Android devices or relying on synced Contour NEXT ONE data for care decisions.

Technical view

The Android app used a statically coded initialization vector. Extracting that value was necessary to decipher communications between the app and backend server. The reported impact depended on also retrieving encrypted user data from Ascensia cloud through another vulnerability, enabling unauthorized access to and modification of patient data.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments using the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE Android application builds before 2019-01-15. The bundle does not identify affected package versions, cloud-side exposure scope, or whether iOS or other Ascensia products are affected.

Exploitation context

No CISA KEV listing or provided source indicates active exploitation. The described attack requires chaining this static-IV issue with a separate vulnerability that retrieves encrypted Ascensia cloud data. Public evidence in the bundle is incomplete on real-world exploitation and remediation details.

Researcher notes

The CVE record provides no CVSS, CWE, package identifiers, or detailed patch notes. The main technical claim is a static IV that becomes dangerous when paired with another cloud data-retrieval flaw. Avoid assuming standalone compromise or affected platforms beyond the Android app named in the record.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify users or managed devices with the Android app dated before 2019-01-15.
  • Ensure the app is updated to a build released on or after 2019-01-15.
  • Check Ascensia guidance for supported fixes and any cloud-side actions.
  • Review patient records for unexpected changes if legacy app use is confirmed.
  • Limit access to cloud-stored patient data to required users and workflows.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory mobile devices for the Ascensia Contour NEXT ONE Android app.
  • Confirm installed app release dates are not before 2019-01-15.
  • Check whether affected users synced data with Ascensia cloud services.
  • Review vendor advisories or support responses for remediation status.
  • Assess logs or records for unexplained patient-data access or modification.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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