CVE-2018-7311: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5m2f-4r3g-v997
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-732
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-7311 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2018-7311 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-7311
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5m2f-4r3g-v997
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-7311

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-7311, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource, where the product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

** DISPUTED ** PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The software installs a privileged helper tool that runs as the root user. This privileged helper tool is installed as a LaunchDaemon and implements an XPC service. The XPC service is responsible for handling new VPN connection operations via the main PrivateVPN application. The privileged helper tool creates new VPN connections by executing the openvpn binary located in the /Applications/PrivateVPN.app/Contents/Resources directory. The openvpn binary can be overwritten by the default user, which allows an attacker that has already installed malicious software as the default user to replace the binary. When a new VPN connection is established, the privileged helper tool will launch this malicious binary, thus allowing an attacker to execute code as the root user. NOTE: the vendor has reportedly indicated that this behavior is "an acceptable part of their software."

References

NVD — CVE-2018-7311 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-7311
Software Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cfc3f3419804b22ee9e82ee8d16a661d
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-7311?
CVE-2018-7311 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2018-7311?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-7311?
CVE-2018-7311 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-7311?
CVE-2018-7311 is classified under CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-7311?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5m2f-4r3g-v997",
  "modified" : "2022-05-13T01:27:06Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:27:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-7311" ],
  "details" : "** DISPUTED ** PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The software installs a privileged helper tool that runs as the root user. This privileged helper tool is installed as a LaunchDaemon and implements an XPC service. The XPC service is responsible for handling new VPN connection operations via the main PrivateVPN application. The privileged helper tool creates new VPN connections by executing the openvpn binary located in the /Applications/PrivateVPN.app/Contents/Resources directory. The openvpn binary can be overwritten by the default user, which allows an attacker that has already installed malicious software as the default user to replace the binary. When a new VPN connection is established, the privileged helper tool will launch this malicious binary, thus allowing an attacker to execute code as the root user. NOTE: the vendor has reportedly indicated that this behavior is \"an acceptable part of their software.\"",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
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  }, {
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/eba22c8b506be6f7128ef5356281915d5667bfff/advisories/VS-2018-004.md"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-004.md"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-732" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-02-21T22:29:00Z"
  }
}