How severe is CVE-2018-10170?

CVE-2018-10170 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2018-10170 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (84th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-10170?

CVE-2018-10170 affects Nordvpn. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-10170?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2018-10170 published?

CVE-2018-10170 was published on 2018-04-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-10170

CVE-2018-10170 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Nordvpn with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-732.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 10.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (84th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-732
Affected product: Nordvpn
Published: 2018-04-16
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

NordVPN 6.12.7.0 for Windows suffers from a SYSTEM privilege escalation vulnerability through the "nordvpn-service" service. This service establishes an NetNamedPipe endpoint that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and call publicly exposed methods. The "Connect" method accepts a class instance argument that provides attacker control of the OpenVPN command line. An attacker can specify a dynamic library plugin that should run for every new VPN connection attempt. This plugin will execute code in the context of the SYSTEM user.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-10170?: NordVPN 6.12.7.0 for Windows suffers from a SYSTEM privilege escalation vulnerability through the "nordvpn-service" service. This service establishes an NetNamedPipe endpoint that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and call publicly exposed methods. The "Connect" method accepts a class instance argument that provides attacker control of the OpenVPN command line. An attacker can specify a dynamic library plugin that should run for every new VPN connection attempt. This plugin will execute code in the context of the SYSTEM user.
How severe is CVE-2018-10170?: CVE-2018-10170 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2018-10170 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (84th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-10170?: CVE-2018-10170 affects Nordvpn. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-10170?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2018-10170 published?: CVE-2018-10170 was published on 2018-04-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-018.md

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:nordvpn:nordvpn:6.12.7.0:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*

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