CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2018-10192 — IPVanish 3.0.11 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

IPVanish 3.0.11 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` LaunchDaemon implements an insecure XPC service that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code as the root user. IPVanish uses a third-party library for converting `xpc_object_t` types in to `NSObject` types for sending XPC messages. When IPVanish establishes a new connection, the following XPC message is sent to the `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` LaunchDaemon. Because the XPC service itself does not validate an incoming connection, any application installed on the operating system can send it XPC messages. In the case of the "connect" message, an attacker could manipulate the `OpenVPNPath` to point at a malicious binary on the system. The `com.ipvanish.osx.vpnhelper` would receive the VPNHelperConnect command, and then execute the malicious binary as the root user.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.0)
Published
2018-04-17
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application

Affected products

  • ipvanish / ipvanish / 3.0.11

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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