CVE-2018-10604
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSEL Compass version 3.0.5.1 and prior allows all users full access to the SEL Compass directory, which may allow modification or overwriting of files within the Compass installation folder, resulting in escalation of privilege and/or malicious code execution.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceSEL Compass version 3.0.5.1 and prior has a path traversal and privilege escalation vulnerability due to misconfigured file system permissions that grant all users full write access to the installation directory. This allows an unprivileged user to modify or overwrite executable files, DLLs, or configuration files within the Compass folder, potentially enabling malicious code execution with elevated privileges when those files are subsequently invoked by higher-privileged processes.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 3.0.5.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Locate SEL Compass installation directoryCheck common installation paths such as C:\Program Files\SEL\Compass or C:\Program Files (x86)\SEL\Compass, or use Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall to find the InstallLocation value for SEL Compass.Affected if SEL Compass is found installed on the system at any version 3.0.5.1 or prior.
-
Determine installed versionLocate a version file, About dialog, or check the file properties of the main Compass executable (typically Compass.exe) in the installation directory. Compare the version number to 3.0.5.1.Affected if The installed version is 3.0.5.1 or lower.
-
Examine directory permissions for the Compass folderRight-click the SEL Compass installation folder in Windows Explorer, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and review the permissions for each user or group. Alternatively, run 'icacls "<install_path>"' from an elevated command prompt to list all access control entries.Affected if The permissions show that the 'Users' group or 'Everyone' group has Write or Full Control permissions on the installation directory.
-
Verify write access for non-privileged usersAs a standard (non-admin) user account, attempt to create or modify a test file within the Compass installation directory, or run 'icacls "<install_path>"' from that standard user account to confirm write permissions are granted.Affected if A standard user account can successfully write to the installation directory or its subdirectories containing executables, DLLs, or configuration files.
If SEL Compass version 3.0.5.1 or lower is installed AND the installation directory grants write access to standard users or the Everyone group, the environment is vulnerable to this privilege escalation flaw.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataremediate by configuring proper Windows ACLs on the SEL Compass installation directory to restrict write access to only authorized service accounts and administrators, following the principle of least privilege.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10604 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-10604 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data