CVE-2018-11138
RCE in Quest Kace System Management Appliance 8.0.318
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2018-11138 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Quest Kace System Management Appliance. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2018-11138 affects the Quest KACE System Management Appliance version 8.0.318. Specifically, the script at /common/download_agent_installer.php can be reached without authentication and permits injection of operating system commands, corresponding to CWE-78. The issue received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible exploitation with no required credentials or user interaction and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted requests to the script over the network and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying appliance. Successful exploitation grants the attacker the ability to run code with the privileges of the web server process, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Public exploit code has been available since 2018, and the vulnerability appears in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, confirming observed in-the-wild use. Core Security published a detailed advisory describing multiple related issues in the same product.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2018-3180
Vulnerability Data
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.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 25 March 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.2.5V1.2.8V15.2.5
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.
Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.