What is CVE-2018-11138?

CVE-2018-11138 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Quest Kace System Management Appliance, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-05-31.

How severe is CVE-2018-11138?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2018-11138 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-11138 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25), indicating it is being actively exploited. 4 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

RCE in Quest Kace System Management Appliance

CVE-2018-11138

The '/common/download_agent_installer.php' script in the Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 is accessible by anonymous users and can be abused to execute arbitrary commands on the system.

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published 2018-05-31 · last modified 2026-08-13.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.917 (99.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-15.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 100th percentile — 99.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.921 · newest: 0.917 · change: -0.003

Affected products

Quest Kace System Management Appliance — versions 8.0.318

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-78 — OS Command Injection

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-03-25. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-04-15.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Known ransomware campaign use: yes.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44950/ (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
www.coresecurity.com/advisories/quest-kace-system-management-appliance-multiple… (Technical Description, Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-11138?: CVE-2018-11138 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Quest Kace System Management Appliance, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-05-31.
How severe is CVE-2018-11138?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-11138 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2018-11138 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25), indicating it is being actively exploited. 4 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.