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CVE Record

CVE-2018-19589: Incorrect Access Controls of Security Officer (SO) in PKCS11 R2 provider that ships with the Utimaco Crypto...

Incorrect Access Controls of Security Officer (SO) in PKCS11 R2 provider that ships with the Utimaco CryptoServer HSM product package allows an SO authenticated to a slot to retrieve attributes of keys marked as private keys in external key storage, and also delete keys marked as private keys in external key storage. This compromises the availability of all keys configured with external key storage and may result in an economic attack in which the attacker denies legitimate users access to keys while maintaining possession of an encrypted copy (blob) of the external key store for ransom. This attack has been dubbed reverse ransomware attack and may be executed via a physical connection to the CryptoServer or remote connection if SSH or remote access to LAN CryptoServer has been compromised. The Confidentiality and Integrity of the affected keys, however, remain untarnished.

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 lets a privileged HSM Security Officer disrupt access to externally stored private keys. The sources describe an availability and extortion risk, not theft or tampering of key material. Business impact depends on whether Utimaco CryptoServer external key storage is used for critical services.

Executive priority

Prioritize assessment if CryptoServer protects production payment, identity, signing, or encryption services. The main risk is service disruption and ransom pressure through denied key access, not confirmed key disclosure.

Technical view

Incorrect access controls in the Utimaco CryptoServer PKCS11 R2 provider allow an SO authenticated to a slot to read attributes of private keys in external key storage and delete those keys. The CVE states confidentiality and integrity remain untarnished, but availability can be compromised.

Likely exposure

Organizations using Utimaco CryptoServer HSM product packages with the PKCS11 R2 provider and external key storage. Risk is higher where SO access is broadly granted, physical access is possible, or SSH/LAN access to CryptoServer is compromised.

Exploitation context

The source describes execution through physical CryptoServer access or remote access after SSH or LAN CryptoServer compromise. CISA KEV is false in the bundle, and no cited source in the bundle confirms active exploitation.

Researcher notes

The bundle does not provide CVSS, affected versions, CWE, or a named fixed release. Analysis should stay bounded to the PKCS11 R2 provider, SO slot authentication, and external key storage behavior described by the CVE and Utimaco reference.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Utimaco's advisory and apply any vendor-recommended update or configuration change.
  • Restrict Security Officer privileges to approved personnel only.
  • Harden and monitor SSH and LAN access to CryptoServer systems.
  • Validate backup and recovery procedures for external key storage.
  • Investigate any unexpected private key deletion or SO activity.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Utimaco CryptoServer deployments using the PKCS11 R2 provider.
  • Confirm whether external key storage is enabled for private keys.
  • Review SO account assignments and recent authentication logs.
  • Check CryptoServer remote access paths for unauthorized exposure.
  • Compare installed packages against Utimaco advisory guidance.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

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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CVE-2018-19589 mapping review

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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
3Source 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

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.