CVE-2018-7716
9.8 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2018-7716 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting privatevpn privatevpn. It was published on March 5, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.helper privileged helper tool. This privileged helper tool implements an XPC service that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and send messages. The XPC service extracts the config string from the corresponding XPC message. This string is supposed to point to an internal OpenVPN configuration file. If a new connection has not already been established, an attacker can send the XPC service a malicious XPC message with the config string pointing at an OpenVPN configuration file that he or she controls. In the configuration file, an attacker can specify a dynamic library plugin that should run for every new VPN connection. This plugin will execute code in the context of the root user.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from privatevpn. Update privatevpn to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2018-7716?
CVE-2018-7716 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting privatevpn privatevpn. It was published on March 5, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2018-7716?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2018-7716?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from privatevpn. Update privatevpn to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2018-7716?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2018-7716 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
AI-driven PR review catches vulnerable dependencies before they ship.
Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
Related CRITICAL CVEs from 2018
View all →A Buffer Overflow issue was discovered in Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley MicroLogix 1400 Controll
Vulnerability in the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Kit (AK) component of Oracle Sun Systems Products Sui
A vulnerability in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN functionality of the Cisco Adaptive Security A
A authentication bypass and execution of code vulnerability in HPE Integrated Lights-out 4 (iLO 4) v
An issue was discovered in Adobe Acrobat Reader 2018.009.20050 and earlier versions, 2017.011.30070
I Librarian I-librarian version 4.8 and earlier contains a XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability i
Analysis of the Bomgar Remote Support Portal JavaStart.jar Applet 52790 and earlier revealed that it
MySQL for PCF tiles 1.7.x before 1.7.10 were discovered to log the AWS access key in plaintext. Thes
An issue was discovered in certain Apple products. macOS before 10.13.3 is affected. The issue invol
An exploitable access control vulnerability exists in the data, program, and function file permissio
An exploitable access control vulnerability exists in the data, program, and function file permissio
An exploitable access control vulnerability exists in the data, program, and function file permissio