CVE-2018-4049
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 · uneditedAn exploitable local privilege elevation vulnerability exists in the file system permissions of GOG Galaxy's “Games” directory, version 1.2.48.36 (Windows 64-bit Installer). An attacker can overwrite executables of installed games to exploit this vulnerability and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
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 confidenceA local privilege elevation vulnerability exists in GOG Galaxy 1.2.48.36 where improper file system permissions on the 'Games' directory allow unprivileged users to overwrite game executables. An attacker with local access can replace legitimate game binaries with malicious code to execute with elevated privileges.
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= 1.2.48.36CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed GOG Galaxy versionCheck the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\GOG.com\Games or look in Programs and Features for 'GOG Galaxy' entry and note the installed versionAffected if The installed version is exactly 1.2.48.36
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Locate the GOG Galaxy Games directoryCheck the default installation path, typically C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games or C:\GOG Galaxy\Games, and verify the directory existsAffected if The Games directory exists on the system
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Examine NTFS permissions on the Games directoryOpen Command Prompt as administrator and run 'icacls "C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games"' (or your actual Games path) to list all user permissionsAffected if Any non-admin users or groups (such as Users, Everyone, or Authenticated Users) appear with (F) Full Control or (W) Write permissions in the output
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Verify write access for standard usersAs a non-administrator user (or using 'icacls' with /grant flag test), attempt to create or modify a file in the Games directory to confirm write capability exists for unprivileged accountsAffected if Non-admin users can successfully create or modify files in the Games directory
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Inspect permissions on game executables within the directoryRun 'icacls "C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\*"' to check ACLs on individual game executablesAffected if Game executables are writable by non-privileged users (not just the SYSTEM or Administrators group)
A system is affected if GOG Galaxy version 1.2.48.36 is installed AND the Games directory grants write permissions to non-admin users, allowing them to replace game binaries with malicious code.
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 dataFix NTFS access control lists (ACLs) on the GOG Galaxy 'Games' directory to remove write permissions for non-admin users, ensuring only privileged accounts can modify or replace game executables.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4049 — 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-2018-4049 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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