CVE-2018-5718
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 · uneditedImproper restriction of write operations within the bounds of a memory buffer in snscore.sys in SoftControl/SafenSoft SysWatch, SoftControl/SafenSoft TPSecure, SoftControl/SafenSoft Enterprise Suite before version 4.4.1 allows local users to cause a denial of service (BSOD) or modify kernel-mode memory via loading of a forged DLL into an user-mode process.
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 snscore.sys kernel-mode driver in SafenSoft products fails to properly validate buffer boundaries when handling DLL loading operations from user-mode processes. This allows local attackers to trigger out-of-bounds memory writes in kernel context, leading to system crashes (BSOD) or potentially enabling kernel memory modification and privilege escalation.
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< 4.4.1< 4.4.1< 4.4.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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.
-
Check if SafenSoft products are installedLook for SafenSoft Softcontrol Enterprise Suite, Syswatch, or Tpsecure in the system via Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check for presence of SafenSoft installation directories under Program Files or Program Files (x86)Affected if Any of these three SafenSoft products are present on the system
-
Locate the snscore.sys driver fileSearch for snscore.sys in the Windows system drivers directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\drivers\) or within the SafenSoft installation folderAffected if The driver file snscore.sys exists on the system
-
Get the snscore.sys driver versionRight-click the snscore.sys file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the File Version, or use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Windows\System32\drivers\snscore.sys').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if The driver version is populated and visible
-
Compare driver version to vulnerable rangeCompare the installed snscore.sys file version against the safe version 4.4.1 - versions below 4.4.1 are vulnerableAffected if The snscore.sys driver version is lower than 4.4.1 (for example, 4.4.0, 4.3.x, etc.)
-
Check if snscore.sys driver is loadedOpen Command Prompt as Administrator and run: sc query snscore or check Device Manager under Non-Plug and Play Drivers for snscoreAffected if The driver shows as RUNNING or STARTED state, meaning the vulnerable code path is active
The system is affected if any SafenSoft product (Enterprise Suite, Syswatch, or Tpsecure) is installed with the snscore.sys driver present and that driver version is below 4.4.1.
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 data4.4.1
Upgrade to SafenSoft SysWatch, TPSecure, or Enterprise Suite version 4.4.1 or later to obtain the patched driver. Given the kernel-level access and potential for privilege escalation, this update should be prioritized despite being a local-only attack vector.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5718 — 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-2018-5718 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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