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CyberghostApplication · Cyberghostvpn

CVE-2018-10646

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
CyberGhost 6.5.0.3180 for Windows suffers from a SYSTEM privilege escalation vulnerability through the "CG6Service" service. This service establishes a NetNamedPipe endpoint that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and call publicly exposed methods. The "ConnectToVpnServer" method accepts a "connectionParams" argument that provides attacker control of the OpenVPN command line. An attacker can specify a dynamic library plugin that should run for every new VPN connection attempt. This plugin will execute code in the context of the SYSTEM user.

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 confidence

The CG6Service runs with SYSTEM privileges and exposes a NetNamedPipe endpoint that accepts method calls from any local process. The ConnectToVpnServer method allows attackers to control OpenVPN command-line arguments, specifically specifying a dynamic library plugin that loads and executes with SYSTEM privileges on every VPN connection attempt.

MitigationRestrict the NetNamedPipe endpoint to authenticated/authorized callers only, implement strict validation of the connectionParams argument to prohibit arbitrary plugin paths, and run the service with reduced privileges rather than SYSTEM.

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
CyberghostApplication
Affected:= 6.5.0.3180

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if CyberGhost VPN is installed
    Look for CyberGhost VPN in the list of installed programs via registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or use 'Get-ItemProperty' PowerShell command to query the installed version
    Affected if The software is installed and version matches 6.5.0.3180 exactly
  2. Identify the CG6Service status
    Open Services console (services.msc) or run 'Get-Service -Name CG6Service' in PowerShell to check if the service exists and is running
    Affected if CG6Service is present and running on the system
  3. Verify CG6Service runs with SYSTEM privileges
    Right-click the CG6Service in Services console and select Properties, or run 'sc qc CG6Service' and 'wmic service where name="CG6Service" get StartName' to check the service logon account
    Affected if The service is configured to run as LocalSystem or a system account with elevated privileges
  4. Check for NetNamedPipe endpoint exposure
    Use a tool like netstat or inspect the service binary configuration files for named pipe bindings, or examine the application logs for evidence of NetNamedPipe listener initialization
    Affected if The CG6Service exposes a NetNamedPipe endpoint accepting unauthenticated local connections
  5. Confirm OpenVPN plugin configuration is writable
    Examine the CyberGhost VPN configuration directory for any files controlling OpenVPN command-line arguments, particularly those specifying plugin paths
    Affected if An attacker-controlled or writable path to OpenVPN plugin can be specified through the ConnectToVpnServer method

Your environment is affected if CyberGhost VPN version 6.5.0.3180 is installed and the CG6Service is running with SYSTEM privileges while exposing an accessible NetNamedPipe endpoint that accepts arbitrary OpenVPN plugin paths.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict the NetNamedPipe endpoint to authenticated/authorized callers only, implement strict validation of the connectionParams argument to prohibit arbitrary plugin paths, and run the service with reduced privileges rather than SYSTEM.

Fix this in Cyberghost Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-10646 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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