Vulnerability in Teamviewer
CVE-2019-18988
TeamViewer Desktop through 14.7.1965 allows a bypass of remote-login access control because the same key is used for different customers' installations. It used a shared AES key for all installations since at least as far back as v7.0.43148, and used it for at least OptionsPasswordAES in the current version of the product. If an attacker were to know this key, they could decrypt protect information stored in the registry or configuration files of TeamViewer. With versions before v9.x , this allowed for attackers to decrypt the Unattended Access password to the system (which allows for remote login to the system as well as headless file browsing). The latest version still uses the same key for OptionPasswordAES but appears to have changed how the Unattended Access password is stored. While in most cases an attacker requires an existing session on a system, if the registry/configuration keys were stored off of the machine (such as in a file share or online), an attacker could then decrypt the required password to login to the system.
EPSS: 0.047 (91.2th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Teamviewer
- N/a — versions n/a
Weakness classification (CWE)
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on . 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: .
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- cve@mitre.org (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Vendor Advisory)
- 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2019-18988?
- CVE-2019-18988 is a high-severity vulnerability in Teamviewer, classified under Weak Password Requirements. CVSS score: 7.0/10. Published 2020-02-07.
- How severe is CVE-2019-18988?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.0 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2019-18988 known to be exploited?
- Yes. CVE-2019-18988 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 15 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.