# CVE-2018-10596: Medtronic 2090 Carelink Programmer Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints

> An attacker can intercept unencrypted update requests if the VPN drops, allowing malicious code execution on Medtronic programmers.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 22 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3vcw-xhqc-97mh

## What is CVE-2018-10596?

CVE-2018-10596 is a high-severity vulnerability in Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer, published on 2 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer 

uses a virtual private network connection to securely download updates. It does not verify it is still connected to this virtual private network before downloading updates. The affected products initially establish an encapsulated IP-based VPN connection to a Medtronic-hosted update network. Once the VPN is established, it makes a request to a HTTP (non-TLS) server across the VPN for updates, which responds and provides any available updates. The programmer-side (client) service responsible for this HTTP request does not check to ensure it is still connected to the VPN before making the HTTP request. Thus, an attacker could cause the VPN connection to terminate (through various methods and attack points) and intercept the HTTP request, responding with malicious updates via a man-in-the-middle attack. The affected products do not verify the origin or integrity of these updates, as it insufficiently relied on the security of the VPN. An attacker with remote network access to the programmer could influence these communications.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor), CWE-923 (Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-10596?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Medtronic 2090 Carelink Programmer Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-10596?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-10596 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-10596 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10596 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer

- [CVE-2018-5446](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5446/): Medtronic 2090 Carelink Programmer Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format (medium 4.9)
- [CVE-2018-5448](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5448/): Medtronic 2090 Carelink Programmer Relative Path Traversal (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-10596 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-10596 is a high-severity vulnerability in Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer, published on 2 Jul 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10596 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer. 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-2018-10596/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10596/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-10596
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-10596
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-10596

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10596/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.