# CVE-2018-7281: Command injection in n/a

> A setuid root binary in CactusVPN for macOS passes user input to system(), allowing local attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Feb 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2p69-65qq-262h

## What is CVE-2018-7281?

CVE-2018-7281 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Feb 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

CactusVPN 5.3.6 for macOS contains a root privilege escalation vulnerability through a setuid root binary called runme. The binary takes a single command line argument and passes this argument to a system() call, thus allowing low privileged users to execute commands as root.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-7281?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cactusvpn Cactusvpn.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-7281?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-7281 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-7281 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-7281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2018-7493](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7493/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-7281 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-7281 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Feb 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-7281 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-2018-7281/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7281/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-7281
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-7281
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-7281

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7281/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.