Vulnerability record · CVE-2018-18556 · published 17 December 2018
CVE-2018-18556: Vyos vulnerability
Vyos · Vyos
A privilege escalation issue was discovered in VyOS 1.1.8. The default configuration also allows operator users to execute the pppd binary with elevated (sudo) permissions. Certain input parameters are not properly validated. A malicious operator user can run the binary with elevated permissions and leverage its improper input validation condition to spawn an attacker-controlled shell with root privileges.
Description
A privilege escalation issue was discovered in VyOS 1.1.8. The default configuration also allows operator users to execute the pppd binary with elevated (sudo) permissions. Certain input parameters are not properly validated. A malicious operator user can run the binary with elevated permissions and leverage its improper input validation condition to spawn an attacker-controlled shell with root privileges.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159234/VyOS-restricted-shell-Escape-Privilege-Escalation.html | ExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry |
| https://blog.mirch.io/2018/11/05/cve-2018-18556-vyos-privilege-escalation-via-sudo-pppd-for-operator-users/ | ExploitThird Party Advisory |
| https://blog.vyos.io/the-operator-level-is-proved-insecure-and-will-be-removed-in-the-next-releases | ExploitVendor Advisory |
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159234/VyOS-restricted-shell-Escape-Privilege-Escalation.html | ExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry |
| https://blog.mirch.io/2018/11/05/cve-2018-18556-vyos-privilege-escalation-via-sudo-pppd-for-operator-users/ | ExploitThird Party Advisory |
| https://blog.vyos.io/the-operator-level-is-proved-insecure-and-will-be-removed-in-the-next-releases | ExploitVendor Advisory |
Track CVE-2018-18556 inside VULONE
Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.
Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2018-18556), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
