CVE-2018-15490: Path Traversal

Published Jan 2, 2019

Updated

An issue was discovered in ExpressVPN on Windows. The Xvpnd.exe process (which runs as a service with SYSTEM privileges) listens on TCP port 2015, which is used as an RPC interface for communication with the client side of the ExpressVPN application. A JSON-RPC protocol over HTTP is used for communication. The JSON-RPC XVPN.GetPreference and XVPN.SetPreference methods are vulnerable to path traversal, and allow reading and writing files on the file system on behalf of the service.

Affected Software

2 affected components

ExpressVPN ExpressVPN

Microsoft Windows

Event History

Jan 2, 2019

CVE Published

via MITRE·06:00 PM

Data Sourced

via MITRE·06:00 PM

Description

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-15490?

CVE-2018-15490 is a vulnerability in ExpressVPN on Windows that allows local privilege escalation.

What is the severity of CVE-2018-15490?

The severity of CVE-2018-15490 is high, with a severity value of 7.1.

How does CVE-2018-15490 exploit work?

CVE-2018-15490 allows an attacker to escalate their privileges by exploiting the Xvpnd.exe process in ExpressVPN on Windows.

Is Microsoft Windows affected by CVE-2018-15490?

No, Microsoft Windows is not affected by CVE-2018-15490.

How can I fix CVE-2018-15490?

To fix CVE-2018-15490, update to the latest version of ExpressVPN on Windows.