# CVE-2018-6822: Privilege escalation in n/a

> An unprotected XPC service in PureVPN for macOS allows local attackers to execute system commands as root, leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Feb 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qp24-jcr5-x5v2

## What is CVE-2018-6822?

CVE-2018-6822 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In PureVPN 6.0.1 on macOS, HelperTool LaunchDaemon implements an unprotected XPC service that can be abused to execute system commands as root.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-6822?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Purevpn Purevpn.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-6822?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-6822 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-6822 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-6822 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-10204](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10204/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2018-18656](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18656/): Hardcoded credentials in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-7484](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7484/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-48957](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-48957/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-6822 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-6822 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-6822 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-2018-6822/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6822/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-6822
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-6822
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-6822

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6822/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.