CVE-2018-17707
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Epic Games Launcher versions prior to 8.2.2. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the handler for the com.epicgames.launcher protocol. A crafted URI with the com.epicgames.launcher protocol can trigger execution of a system call composed from a user-supplied string. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-7241.
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 confidenceThe Epic Games Launcher registers a custom protocol handler (com.epicgames.launcher) that processes URIs. This handler fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input within the URI, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary system commands that get executed via a system call. Exploitation requires the user to visit a malicious page or open a malicious file containing the crafted URI, resulting in code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 8.2.2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.
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Confirm Epic Games Launcher is installedLook for the Epic Games Launcher executable at typical installation paths: %ProgramFiles%\Epic Games\Launcher\Engine\Binaries\Win64\EpicGamesLauncher.exe or %LocalAppData%\EpicGamesLauncher\app\*. Check Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Epic Games\EpicGamesLauncher for AppDataPath value.Affected if The Launcher executable exists in the expected directories or registry keys are present.
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Determine installed versionRight-click EpicGamesLauncher.exe, select Properties, then look at the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, check Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Epic Games\EpicGamesLauncher for an InstallVersion value.Affected if The version number is lower than 8.2.2.
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Check if protocol handler is registeredOpen Command Prompt and run: reg query "HKEY_CLASSESROOT\com.epicgames.launcher" to see if the protocol handler entry exists. Also check HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\com.epicgames.launcher for user-level registration.Affected if The protocol handler registry entries exist under com.epicgames.launcher in HKEY_CLASSESROOT or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.
User is affected if Epic Games Launcher version is below 8.2.2 AND the com.epicgames.launcher protocol handler is registered on the system.
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 data8.2.2
Upgrade to Epic Games Launcher version 8.2.2 or later, which contains the patched protocol handler with proper input validation.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17707 — 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-2018-17707 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
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- 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
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