# CVE-2018-1000118: Electron protocol handler browser vulnerable to Command Injection

> An attacker can execute arbitrary commands by tricking a user into opening a malicious Electron protocol handler link in their browser.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Mar 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fjqr-fx3f-g4rv

## What is CVE-2018-1000118?

CVE-2018-1000118 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Electronjs Electron, published on 7 Mar 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Github Electron version Electron 1.8.2-beta.4 and earlier contains a Command Injection vulnerability in Protocol Handler that can result in command execute. This attack appear to be exploitable via the victim opening an electron protocol handler in their browser. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in Electron 1.8.2-beta.5. This issue is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2018-1000006, specifically the black list used was not case insensitive allowing an attacker to potentially bypass it.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-1000118?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including electron. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `electron` | npm | All versions | 1.8.2-beta5 |
| `electron` | npm | All versions | 1.8.2-beta5 |

Products: Electronjs Electron.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-1000118?

Upgrade electron to 1.8.2-beta5 or later.

## Is CVE-2018-1000118 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1000118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Electronjs Electron

- [CVE-2017-16151](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16151/): Chromium Remote Code Execution in electron (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-34780](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34780/): Electron: Context Isolation bypass via contextBridge VideoFrame transfer (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2026-102676](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102676/): Electron: <webview> can enable Node.js integration in Web Workers despite embedder restrictions (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2026-102673](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102673/): Electron drops inherited HTML sandbox restrictions for popups opened through OpenURLFromTab (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-102674](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102674/): Electron: Windows opened from a sandboxed top-level document do not inherit its sandbox restrictions (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-1000118 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-1000118 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Electronjs Electron, published on 7 Mar 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1000118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- electron (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.8.2-beta5
- electron (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.8.2-beta5

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1000118/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1000118/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1000118
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000118
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-1000118

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1000118/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.