# CVE-2018-18535: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A local attacker can exploit the ASUS Aura Sync driver to read/write MSRs and execute arbitrary ring-0 code, gaining kernel privileges.

- **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:** 26 Dec 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xjx9-969q-427x

## What is CVE-2018-18535?

CVE-2018-18535 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Dec 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Asusgio low-level driver in ASUS Aura Sync v1.07.22 and earlier exposes functionality to read and write Machine Specific Registers (MSRs). This could be leveraged to execute arbitrary ring-0 code.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-18535?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Asus Aura Sync Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-18535?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-18535 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-18535 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-18535 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-18536](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18536/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-18537](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18537/): Other in n/a (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-18535 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-18535 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Dec 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-2018-18535 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-2018-18535/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18535/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-18535
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-18535
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-18535

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18535/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.