# CVE-2018-15912: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A local attacker can escalate privileges to root by manipulating package repositories to execute arbitrary code via system update scripts.

- **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:** 29 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-324x-pjvq-jjf7

## What is CVE-2018-15912?

CVE-2018-15912 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in manjaro-update-system.sh in manjaro-system 20180716-1 on Manjaro Linux. A local attacker can install or remove arbitrary packages and package repositories potentially containing hooks with arbitrary code, which will automatically be run as root, or remove packages vital to the system.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-15912?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Manjaro Manjaro Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-15912?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-15912 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-15912 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15912 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15912 (github_poc): https://github.com/coderobe/CVE-2018-15912-PoC

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-15912 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-15912 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15912 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-2018-15912/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15912/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-15912
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15912
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-15912

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15912/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.