# CVE-2018-11479: Command injection in n/a

> An attacker can execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges via the WindscribeService named pipe due to lack of input validation.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 May 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mcm6-4273-92rf

## What is CVE-2018-11479?

CVE-2018-11479 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 25 May 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The VPN component in Windscribe 1.81 uses the OpenVPN client for connections. Also, it creates a WindScribeService.exe system process that establishes a \\.\pipe\WindscribeService named pipe endpoint that allows the Windscribe VPN process to connect and execute an OpenVPN process or other processes (like taskkill, etc.). There is no validation of the program name before constructing the lpCommandLine argument for a CreateProcess call. An attacker can run any malicious process with SYSTEM privileges through this named pipe.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-11479?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Windscribe Windscribe.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-11479?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-11479 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-11479 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-11479 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Windscribe WindscribeService Named Pipe Privilege Escalation (metasploit)
- Windscribe - WindscribeService Named Pipe Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2024-6141](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6141/): Windscribe Directory Traversal Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-41141](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-41141/): Privilege escalation in Windscribe (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-22809](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-22809/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-27518](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27518/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-11334](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11334/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-11479 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-11479 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 25 May 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2018-11479 exists.

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-2018-11479/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11479/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11479
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11479
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-11479

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11479/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.