CVE-2018-16167: LogonTracer OS command injection via unspecified vectors

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 18 September 2026. Confidence: medium.

critical priorityUnauthenticated network-reachable OS command injection with a 9.8 CVSS score and very high EPSS probability makes this an urgent patch-or-isolate case despite the thin description.

What it is

LogonTracer 1.2.0 and earlier contains an OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) that lets remote attackers run arbitrary operating system commands. The vulnerability record does not specify the exact injection point, so defenders must treat any externally reachable LogonTracer input path as suspect. With a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8 and no authentication or user interaction required, this is a severe pre-auth remote code execution risk for exposed instances.

Impact

An unauthenticated remote attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands with the privileges of the LogonTracer process, leading to full compromise of the host. That typically means data theft, service disruption, and a foothold for lateral movement.

Attack surface

The CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N indicates the flaw is reachable over the network with no authentication and no user interaction. The description says only 'unspecified vectors', so the precise request path or parameter is not documented in this record.

Exploitation

CVE-2018-16167 is not listed in CISA KEV and no ransomware use is documented, but EPSS is very high at roughly 0.749 (99.5th percentile), indicating strong predicted exploitation activity. References are limited to vendor release notes and a JVN advisory, with no public exploit tag in this record.

What to do

• Upgrade LogonTracer to version 1.2.1 or later, which the vendor release notes identify as the fixed version.
• If immediate upgrade is not possible, remove LogonTracer from untrusted networks and restrict access to a trusted management segment or localhost.
• Place the application behind an authenticating reverse proxy and apply strict allowlists on any input that reaches command execution paths.
• Run LogonTracer with a dedicated low-privilege service account and confine it to a container or host with minimal filesystem and network reach.
• Monitor the JVN advisory and vendor release page for further guidance on the affected input vectors.

Detection

• Audit web and application logs for suspicious shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, $(), backticks) in requests to LogonTracer endpoints.
• Monitor for unexpected child processes spawned by the LogonTracer service account, especially shells or command interpreters.
• Alert on outbound network connections from the LogonTracer host to unfamiliar destinations, which may indicate command-and-control or data exfiltration.
• Inventory internet-facing or broadly reachable LogonTracer instances and verify their version against 1.2.1.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.