CVE-2018-7311
PrivateVPN macOS Root Privilege Escalation
Description
PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The software installs a privileged helper tool that runs as the root user. This privileged helper tool is installed as a LaunchDaemon and implements an XPC service. The XPC service is responsible for handling new VPN connection operations via the main PrivateVPN application. The privileged helper tool creates new VPN connections by executing the openvpn binary located in the /Applications/PrivateVPN.app/Contents/Resources directory. The openvpn binary can be overwritten by the default user, which allows an attacker that has already installed malicious software as the default user to replace the binary. When a new VPN connection is established, the privileged helper tool will launch this malicious binary, thus allowing an attacker to execute code as the root user. NOTE: the vendor has reportedly indicated that this behavior is "an acceptable part of their software.
INFO
Published Date :
Feb. 21, 2018, 10:29 p.m.
Last Modified :
Nov. 21, 2024, 4:11 a.m.
Source :
[email protected]
Remotely Exploitable :
Yes !
Impact Score :
5.9
Exploitability Score :
2.8
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2018-7311.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d | Third Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md | Third Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md | Third Party Advisory |
| https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d | Third Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md | Third Party Advisory |
| https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md | Third Party Advisory |
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2018-7311 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2018-7311 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Nov. 21, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d Added Reference https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md Added Reference https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Aug. 05, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Aug. 01, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CWE CISA-ADP CWE-732 Added CVSS V3.1 CISA-ADP AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jul. 23, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
May. 17, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
May. 14, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Apr. 11, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Mar. 21, 2024
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Tag MITRE disputed -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Nov. 07, 2023
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Description ** DISPUTED ** PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The software installs a privileged helper tool that runs as the root user. This privileged helper tool is installed as a LaunchDaemon and implements an XPC service. The XPC service is responsible for handling new VPN connection operations via the main PrivateVPN application. The privileged helper tool creates new VPN connections by executing the openvpn binary located in the /Applications/PrivateVPN.app/Contents/Resources directory. The openvpn binary can be overwritten by the default user, which allows an attacker that has already installed malicious software as the default user to replace the binary. When a new VPN connection is established, the privileged helper tool will launch this malicious binary, thus allowing an attacker to execute code as the root user. NOTE: the vendor has reportedly indicated that this behavior is "an acceptable part of their software." PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The software installs a privileged helper tool that runs as the root user. This privileged helper tool is installed as a LaunchDaemon and implements an XPC service. The XPC service is responsible for handling new VPN connection operations via the main PrivateVPN application. The privileged helper tool creates new VPN connections by executing the openvpn binary located in the /Applications/PrivateVPN.app/Contents/Resources directory. The openvpn binary can be overwritten by the default user, which allows an attacker that has already installed malicious software as the default user to replace the binary. When a new VPN connection is established, the privileged helper tool will launch this malicious binary, thus allowing an attacker to execute code as the root user. NOTE: the vendor has reportedly indicated that this behavior is "an acceptable part of their software. -
CPE Deprecation Remap by [email protected]
May. 04, 2020
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:privatevpn:privatevpn:2.0.31:*:*:*:*:mac_os:*:* OR *cpe:2.3:a:privatevpn:privatevpn:2.0.31:*:*:*:*:macos:*:* -
CWE Remap by [email protected]
Oct. 03, 2019
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed CWE CWE-264 CWE-732 -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Mar. 18, 2018
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V2 (AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C) Added CVSS V3 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Changed Reference Type https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d No Types Assigned https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d Third Party Advisory Changed Reference Type https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md No Types Assigned https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md Third Party Advisory Changed Reference Type https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md No Types Assigned https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md Third Party Advisory Added CWE CWE-264 Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:privatevpn:privatevpn:2.0.31:*:*:*:*:mac_os:*:* -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Mar. 06, 2018
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md [No Types Assigned] -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Feb. 27, 2018
Action Type Old Value New Value Removed Reference https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md [No Types Assigned] Added Reference https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md [No Types Assigned] Added Reference https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d [No Types Assigned]
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2018-7311 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2018-7311
weaknesses.
Exploit Prediction
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.
0.64 }} -0.01%
score
0.68199
percentile