CVE-2018-6318
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 · uneditedIn Sophos Tester Tool 3.2.0.7 Beta, the driver loads (in the context of the application used to test an exploit or ransomware) the DLL using a payload that runs from NTDLL.DLL (so, it's run in userland), but the driver doesn't perform any validation of this DLL (not its signature, not its hash, etc.). A person can change this DLL in a local way, or with a remote connection, to a malicious DLL with the same name -- and when the product is used, this malicious DLL will be loaded, aka a DLL Hijacking attack.
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 Sophos Tester Tool 3.2.0.7 Beta contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability where the driver loads NTDLL.DLL without performing any validation of the DLL's signature or hash. An attacker can replace the legitimate DLL with a malicious one (locally or remotely), and the application will load and execute the malicious code when run.
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= 3.2.0.7CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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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Check if Sophos Tester Tool is installedLook for 'Sophos Tester' in the list of installed programs (Control Panel > Programs and Features) or search for the executable file on the systemAffected if The application Sophos Tester is present on the system
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Verify the installed version is 3.2.0.7Right-click on the Sophos Tester executable or its shortcut, select Properties, and check the Version tab. Alternatively, right-click the DLL file and view its properties.Affected if The version listed is exactly 3.2.0.7 (the affected version)
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Locate the application directoryFind the installation path of Sophos Tester Tool (typically C:\Program Files\Sophos\ or similar)Affected if The application is installed and accessible
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Check the application directory for NTDLL.DLLOpen the installation folder and look for a file named NTDLL.DLL. Compare its file hash with the legitimate Windows system NTDLL.DLL found in C:\Windows\System32\NTDLL.DLL using a tool like certutil or PowerShell Get-FileHash.Affected if An NTDLL.DLL file exists in the Sophos Tester directory (indicating potential for DLL hijacking)
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Check if the application directory is writableRight-click the Sophos Tester installation folder, select Properties, and review the Security tab to see which users have Write or Modify permissions. Alternatively, attempt to create a test file in the directory.Affected if Standard users or unprivileged accounts have Write access to the application directory (enabling an attacker to place a malicious DLL)
A user is affected if Sophos Tester Tool version 3.2.0.7 is installed and the application directory contains an NTDLL.DLL file or is writable by non-admin users, allowing DLL hijacking.
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 dataImplement cryptographic validation (signature verification and/or hash comparison) of DLLs before loading, and ensure DLLs are loaded from secure, write-protected directories to prevent tampering.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6318 — 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-2018-6318 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data