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SandboxieApplication · Sandboxie Plus

CVE-2018-18748

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-29
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
Public exploit 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
Sandboxie 5.26 allows a Sandbox Escape via an "import os" statement, followed by os.system("cmd") or os.system("powershell"), within a .py file. NOTE: the vendor disputes this issue because the observed behavior is consistent with the product's intended functionality

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

Sandboxie 5.26 allows a sandbox escape through Python scripts. An attacker can use `import os` followed by `os.system('cmd')` or `os.system('powershell')` within a .py file to execute arbitrary system commands outside the sandbox isolation, completely bypassing the intended containment.

MitigationDisable or restrict Python script execution within the sandbox, or consider alternative sandboxing solutions if the vendor maintains this is intended functionality. Evaluate whether the sandbox provides adequate isolation for your threat model.

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
SandboxieApplication
Affected:= 5.26

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 Sandboxie version
    Open the Sandboxie control panel or right-click the Sandboxie tray icon and select 'About'. Alternatively, check the file properties of SbieSvc.exe in the Sandboxie installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Sandboxie or C:\Program Files (x86)\Sandboxie).
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.26.
  2. Identify Python installation in the sandbox
    Check if Python is installed on the host system and is accessible from within a sandboxed application. Attempt to run 'python --version' from a command prompt running inside the sandbox, or check if Python appears in the Start Menu within the sandbox.
    Affected if Python is installed on the host and is accessible to applications running inside the sandbox.
  3. Review Sandboxie Python execution policy
    Open Sandboxie Settings (right-click tray icon > Settings), then navigate to the Applications or Scripting section. Look for settings related to Python execution or script file handling. Check the SbieIni.ini file in the Sandboxie installation directory for any Python-related entries.
    Affected if Python script execution is not explicitly blocked or restricted in the Sandboxie configuration.
  4. Test the escape condition
    Create a test Python script containing 'import os' and 'os.system("whoami")' within the sandbox. Execute the script and verify whether the command runs with the host system's privileges rather than within the sandbox isolation.
    Affected if Commands executed via os.system() from a Python script run inside the sandbox execute outside the sandbox boundary (i.e., the command runs with full host system access, not sandbox-restricted access).

A user is affected if they have Sandboxie version 5.26 installed, Python is accessible within the sandbox environment, and the Sandboxie configuration does not block Python script execution.

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

Disable or restrict Python script execution within the sandbox, or consider alternative sandboxing solutions if the vendor maintains this is intended functionality. Evaluate whether the sandbox provides adequate isolation for your threat model.

Fix this in Sandboxie Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation16.0 h
  • Implementation80.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA12.0 h
132.0 hours of engineering $23,360
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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-2018-18748 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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