Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw means a stolen hashed password may work like the real password for affected SUSE cryptctl deployments. An attacker who obtains the hash may not need to crack it first. The business risk is high where affected SAP or SUSE Manager systems protect sensitive operations or infrastructure access.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for affected SUSE systems that manage SAP, infrastructure, or administrative workflows. The issue can turn a supposedly protected password hash into a usable secret, making credential exposure more damaging than normal hash leakage.
Technical view
CVE-2019-18906 is an improper authentication issue in SUSE cryptctl before version 2.4. The source states client-side password hashing is equivalent to clear text password storage, allowing attackers with access to a hashed password to use it directly. CVSS 3.1 is 9.8 with network attack vector and no required privileges or user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP 12-SP5 and SUSE Manager Server 4.0 systems running cryptctl versions prior to 2.4. Organizations without these products or with cryptctl 2.4 or later are not shown as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. It also does not include public exploit details. Practical risk depends on whether an attacker can obtain hashed passwords from affected cryptctl environments, because the hash may function as reusable authentication material.
Researcher notes
The key distinction is that the hash acts like a bearer secret, not merely something to crack offline. The provided evidence names affected products and fixed version threshold, but does not include detailed root cause, exploit maturity, or full SUSE advisory remediation text.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected cryptctl installations to version 2.4 or later.
- Check SUSE guidance for any product-specific remediation instructions.
- Treat exposed cryptctl password hashes as compromised credentials.
- Rotate relevant credentials after patching if hashes may have been accessible.
- Restrict access to files, logs, and backups containing authentication material.
Validation and detection
- Inventory SLES for SAP 12-SP5 and SUSE Manager Server 4.0 systems.
- Verify installed cryptctl versions and flag anything before 2.4.
- Review whether cryptctl password hashes were exposed to users, logs, or backups.
- Confirm remediation by rechecking cryptctl version after update.
- Check monitoring for suspicious access around exposed credential material.
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-287: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-18906 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
- No
- 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.
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
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1186226CVE reference
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 Authentication
Improper Authentication represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.