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Telegram DesktopApplication · Telegram

CVE-2018-17613

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-09-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Telegram Desktop (aka tdesktop) 1.3.16 alpha, when "Use proxy" is enabled, sends credentials and application data in cleartext over the SOCKS5 protocol.

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

In Telegram Desktop 1.3.16 alpha, when the 'Use proxy' setting is enabled, the application transmits SOCKS5 authentication credentials and application data in cleartext instead of properly encrypting or protecting the authentication exchange. This allows network observers to intercept credentials and sensitive application traffic.

MitigationUpdate Telegram Desktop to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Avoid using SOCKS5 proxies with Telegram Desktop until the patched version is deployed, or ensure network traffic is protected by additional encryption layers (e.g., VPN).

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
Telegram DesktopApplication
Affected:= 1.3.16

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. Verify Telegram Desktop version
    Open Telegram Desktop, click on the three-line menu icon, select 'Settings', then scroll to the bottom and click 'Advanced' or check the 'About' section to find the version number. Alternatively, right-click the Telegram Desktop executable in its installation directory, select 'Properties', and check the 'Details' tab for version information.
    Affected if The version displayed is exactly 1.3.16 (alpha build)
  2. Check if proxy is enabled
    In Telegram Desktop, go to Settings > Advanced (or Settings > Proxy settings depending on version). Look for a setting labeled 'Use proxy' or 'Proxy settings'.
    Affected if The 'Use proxy' setting is turned ON or enabled
  3. Identify proxy protocol type
    In the same proxy settings menu, examine the protocol dropdown or configuration to determine which type of proxy is selected (SOCKS5, HTTP, MTProto, or Telegram Proxy).
    Affected if The selected proxy type is SOCKS5
  4. Review proxy credentials configuration
    In the SOCKS5 proxy configuration section, verify if username and password fields are populated. Check whether the credentials are stored locally in the proxy configuration.
    Affected if SOCKS5 proxy is configured with stored authentication credentials (username and password)
  5. Inspect Telegram configuration files
    Navigate to the Telegram Desktop data folder (typically %APPDATA%\Telegram Desktop\ on Windows, ~/.TelegramDesktop/ on Linux, or ~/Library/Application Support/Telegram Desktop/ on macOS). Open the 'tdata' or 'Telegram' configuration folder and examine proxy-related configuration files for SOCKS5 entries with plaintext credentials.
    Affected if Configuration files contain active SOCKS5 proxy settings with authentication credentials stored in plaintext

You are affected if you are running Telegram Desktop version 1.3.16 AND have a SOCKS5 proxy enabled with authentication credentials configured in the application settings.

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

Update Telegram Desktop to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Avoid using SOCKS5 proxies with Telegram Desktop until the patched version is deployed, or ensure network traffic is protected by additional encryption layers (e.g., VPN).

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest Telegram Desktop release (newer than 1.3.16)

  1. 1. Close Telegram Desktop if it is currently running
  2. 2. Uninstall the current Telegram Desktop version 1.3.16 alpha
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Telegram Desktop from the official website (https://desktop.telegram.org/)
  4. 4. Install the latest version which contains security fixes for the cleartext credential transmission vulnerability
  5. 5. When configuring proxy settings in the new version, verify that credentials are properly encrypted

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

Fix this in Telegram Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2018-17613 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