# CVE-2018-10192: Privilege escalation in n/a

> An insecure XPC service in the IPVanish macOS client allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by manipulating the OpenVPN path.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Apr 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2g85-9pvq-qr67

## What is CVE-2018-10192?

CVE-2018-10192 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Apr 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IPVanish 3.0.11 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` LaunchDaemon implements an insecure XPC service that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code as the root user. IPVanish uses a third-party library for converting `xpc_object_t` types in to `NSObject` types for sending XPC messages. When IPVanish establishes a new connection, the following XPC message is sent to the `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` LaunchDaemon. Because the XPC service itself does not validate an incoming connection, any application installed on the operating system can send it XPC messages. In the case of the "connect" message, an attacker could manipulate the `OpenVPNPath` to point at a malicious binary on the system. The `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` would receive the VPNHelperConnect command, and then execute the malicious binary as the root user.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-10192?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ipvanish Ipvanish.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-10192?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-10192 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-10192 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10192 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-10192 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-10192 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Apr 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10192 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2018-10192/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10192/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-10192
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-10192
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-10192

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10192/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.