# CVE-2018-5731: Race condition in n/a

> Attackers can achieve code execution by exploiting a race condition in the scanning feature of Heimdal PRO antivirus software.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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:** 22 Mar 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jr9q-cm32-5462

## What is CVE-2018-5731?

CVE-2018-5731 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Mar 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 Heimdal PRO 2.2.190. As part of the scanning feature, a process called md.hs writes an executable called CS1.tmp to C:\windows\TEMP. Afterwards the executable is run. It is possible for an attacker to create the file first, let md.hs overwrite it, and then rewrite the file in the window between md.hs closing the file and executing it. This can be exploited via opportunistic locks and a high priority thread. The vulnerability is triggered when a scan starts. NOTE: any affected Heimdal products are completely unrelated to the Heimdal vendor of a Kerberos 5 product on the h5l.org web site.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-5731?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Heimdalsecurity Heimdal.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-5731?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-5731 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-5731 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-5731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-5349](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5349/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-5731 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-5731 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 22 Mar 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-2018-5731 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-2018-5731/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5731/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-5731
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-5731
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-5731

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5731/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.