Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-7602 is a critical Drupal core remote code execution flaw. An unauthenticated attacker could compromise a vulnerable Drupal site over the network. The provided sources state this issue was exploited in the wild, and CISA lists it in KEV, so exposed legacy Drupal assets should be treated as urgent.
Executive priority
Treat this as an immediate remediation and compromise-assessment item for any exposed Drupal 7.x or 8.x asset. The combination of unauthenticated RCE, known exploitation, and public exploit references makes delayed action high risk.
Technical view
The vulnerability affects multiple Drupal 7.x and 8.x subsystems and is related to SA-CORE-2018-002. It is classified as CWE-94 with CVSS 9.8: network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Most likely exposure is internet-facing Drupal 7.x or 8.x sites that did not receive Drupal or downstream distribution security updates for SA-CORE-2018-004. The source bundle does not provide exact affected or fixed version ranges.
Exploitation context
Active exploitation is supported by the CVE description and CISA KEV listing. Exploit-DB references indicate public exploit material exists, increasing risk for unpatched public Drupal sites. No offensive procedure is needed to assess business urgency.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for severity and exploitation, but the provided bundle does not specify fixed Drupal versions or complete CPE mappings. Use Drupal SA-CORE-2018-004 and distribution advisories as authoritative remediation references.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory all Drupal 7.x and 8.x sites, including legacy and archived web properties.
- Apply Drupal SA-CORE-2018-004 guidance and relevant Debian security updates where applicable.
- Prioritize internet-facing Drupal systems and sites handling credentials, payments, or sensitive content.
- If update status is uncertain, isolate the site or restrict public access pending validation.
- Review vendor guidance before assuming any workaround is sufficient.
Validation and detection
- Confirm each Drupal deployment version and whether SA-CORE-2018-004 remediation was applied.
- Check package records for Debian DSA-4180 or DLA-1365-1 where Drupal came from Debian.
- Search web logs around exposure windows for suspicious Drupal request patterns and unexpected code execution indicators.
- Verify no unknown modules, users, scheduled tasks, or file changes appeared after suspected exposure.
- Confirm CISA KEV tracking has been incorporated into vulnerability management prioritization.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-94: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-7602 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 44557CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- [debian-lts-announce] 20180426 [SECURITY] [DLA 1365-1] drupal7 security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- 44542CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- DSA-4180CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
- https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2018-004CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-7602CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.