# CVE-2018-4036: Privilege escalation in Clean My Mac

> A local attacker can exploit improper input validation in CleanMyMac X to modify kernel extensions, leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gpjj-mwc7-6rjh

## What is CVE-2018-4036?

CVE-2018-4036 is a high-severity vulnerability in Clean My Mac, published on 10 Jan 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The CleanMyMac X software contains an exploitable privilege escalation vulnerability due to improper input validation. An attacker with local access could use this vulnerability to modify the running kernel extensions on the system.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-4036?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Macpaw Cleanmymac X.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-4036?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-4036 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-4036 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4036 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Clean My Mac

- [CVE-2019-5011](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5011/): Privilege escalation in CleanMyMac X (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2018-4032](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4032/): Privilege escalation in Clean My Mac (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2018-4033](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4033/): Privilege escalation in Clean My Mac (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2018-4034](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4034/): Privilege escalation in Clean My Mac (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2018-4035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4035/): Privilege escalation in Clean My Mac (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-4036 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-4036 is a high-severity vulnerability in Clean My Mac, published on 10 Jan 2019. 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-2018-4036 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Clean My Mac. 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-2018-4036/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4036/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4036
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4036
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-4036

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4036/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.