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ConnectApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-12805

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Adobe Connect versions 9.7.5 and earlier have an Insecure Library Loading vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation.

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 · moderate confidence

Adobe Connect versions 9.7.5 and earlier are vulnerable to insecure library loading (DLL hijacking), where the application loads executable libraries from untrusted locations. This allows an attacker to inject malicious DLLs that execute with the application's privileges, potentially leading to privilege escalation from unprivileged to administrative levels.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Connect to version 9.8 or later, which contains the security fix for this vulnerability. Ensure the application runs with least privilege and verify that system DLL search paths are properly secured.

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
ConnectApplication
Affected:<= 9.7.5

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify Adobe Connect installation and version
    Locate the Adobe Connect installation directory (commonly at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Connect 9 or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Connect 9) and check the version. Open the application or check the version via the Windows Programs and Features control panel, or examine version information in the main executable file properties.
    Affected if The installed version is 9.7.5 or any earlier version.
  2. Verify DLL search path vulnerability
    Check the system's DLL search order by examining environment variables (PATH) and the application working directory. Use Process Monitor or similar tooling to observe which directories Adobe Connect checks when loading DLLs during startup or when specific features are used.
    Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories that are writable by unprivileged users (such as the application working directory or unsecured PATH locations).
  3. Assess file system permissions on application directories
    Review file system permissions on the Adobe Connect installation directory and its subdirectories. Check if standard users have write access to any directory that appears in the application's DLL search path.
    Affected if Non-administrative users can write to directories in the DLL search path where the application loads libraries from.
  4. Determine application privilege level
    Observe the user context under which Adobe Connect runs. Check if the service or application runs with administrator or elevated privileges by examining the service configuration (via Services.msc) or process properties.
    Affected if Adobe Connect runs with administrative or elevated privileges while allowing unprivileged users write access to DLL search paths.

A user is affected if Adobe Connect version 9.7.5 or earlier is installed AND the application loads DLLs from directories writable by unprivileged users, allowing DLL hijacking to escalate to administrative privileges.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.7.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe Connect to version 9.8 or later, which contains the security fix for this vulnerability. Ensure the application runs with least privilege and verify that system DLL search paths are properly secured.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Connect 9.8 or later

  1. 1. Backup the current Adobe Connect installation and database before upgrading
  2. 2. Download Adobe Connect version 9.8 or later from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com)
  3. 3. Stop the Adobe Connect services on the server
  4. 4. Install the new version following Adobe's upgrade documentation
  5. 5. Verify the installation by checking the Adobe Connect version in the admin dashboard
  6. 6. Test critical functionality to ensure the upgrade did not break existing features
  7. 7. Restart all Adobe Connect services
Caveat Review Adobe Connect 9.8 release notes for any feature changes or migration requirements before upgrading; ensure compatibility with existing plugins and integrations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Connect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2018-12805 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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