ChromeWeb browser · Google
CVE-2018-18358
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 · uneditedLack of special casing of localhost in WPAD files in Google Chrome prior to 71.0.3578.80 allowed an attacker on the local network segment to proxy resources on localhost via a crafted WPAD file.
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 confidenceGoogle Chrome prior to 71.0.3578.80 failed to properly special-case localhost when processing WPAD (Web Proxy Auto-Discovery) files. This allowed an attacker on the local network segment to serve a crafted WPAD file that would cause Chrome to proxy localhost traffic through their controlled server, enabling interception of local resources.
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
ChromeWeb browser
< 71.0.3578.80
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Check Google Chrome versionVisit chrome://settings/help or run 'google-chrome --version' in terminalAffected if Version number is less than 71.0.3578.80
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Verify WPAD auto-discovery is enabledNavigate to Chrome Settings > Advanced > System > Open proxy settings, or check 'Automatically detect settings' is enabled in system proxy configurationAffected if WPAD/auto-detect is enabled AND Chrome version is below 71.0.3578.80
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Check Debian package versionRun 'dpkg -l | grep -i chrome' or 'apt list --installed | grep -i chrome' on Debian-based systemsAffected if Installed chrome package version is less than 71.0.3578.80-1
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Check Red Hat package versionRun 'rpm -qa | grep -i chrome' on RHEL-based systemsAffected if Installed chrome package version is less than 71.0.3578.80
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Confirm network position for WPAD exploitationDetermine if untrusted network devices exist on local segment that could respond to WPAD queriesAffected if Vulnerable Chrome version with WPAD enabled on a network with untrusted devices
User is affected if Google Chrome version is below 71.0.3578.80 and WPAD/auto-detect proxy settings are enabled, allowing a local network attacker to intercept localhost traffic via a malicious WPAD file.
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 data71.0.3578.80
Update Google Chrome to version 71.0.3578.80 or later to obtain the patch that properly handles localhost in WPAD file processing.
Fix this in Chrome
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18358 — 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-2018-18358 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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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