PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.helper privileged helper tool. This privileged helper tool implements an XPC service that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and send messages. The XPC service extracts the config string from the corresponding XPC message. This string is supposed to point to an internal OpenVPN configuration file. If a new connection has not already been established, an attacker can send the XPC service a malicious XPC message with the config string pointing at an OpenVPN configuration file that he or she controls. In the configuration file, an attacker can specify a dynamic library plugin that should run for every new VPN connection. This plugin will execute code in the context of the root user.
CVE-2018-7716
CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence
Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2022-05-13. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8; sources differ by 0.0.
Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 2%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 9.8
- EG Score
- 9.8(medium)
- EPSS
- 82.1%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
March 5, 2018
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
Advisory Details (1)
Auto-updated Jun 8, 2026No patch confirmed yet.
generic
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https://github.com/VerSprite/research/edit/master/advisories/VS-2018-006.mdData Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 47× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2018-7716?
CVE-2018-7716 is a critical vulnerability published on March 5, 2018. PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.helper privileged helper tool. This privileged helper tool implements an XPC service that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and send messages. The XPC service extracts the…
When was CVE-2018-7716 disclosed?
CVE-2018-7716 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 5, 2018, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2018-7716 actively exploited?
CVE-2018-7716 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 82.1% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-7716?
CVE-2018-7716 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2018-7716?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2018-7716, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.
Dependency Blast Radius
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