CVE-2019-18988
TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability
This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: attackers are using it. If you run Desktop, fix it now.
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
US federal civilian agencies must remediate by May 3, 2022.
Patch status
No official fix confirmed yet
Until a fix ships, follow the vendor's mitigations and CISA's required action, limit exposure of affected systems, and watch this record for a patch.
Description
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.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database. Official vulnerability data, reproduced as published.
Affected products
| Product | Vendor | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | TeamViewer | KEV |
Sources: KEV = CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Version details have not been published yet.
Intelligence timeline
Developments from the last 30 days, newest first.
- CVSS scoredUpdateKEV
CVE-2019-18988 scored CVSS 7.0: TeamViewer Desktop, TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability
CISA lists this as exploited in the wild. Unpatched Desktop systems are exposed to active attacks now.
Basis: NIST National Vulnerability Database
1 earlier event is available with a subscription. See plans.
Coverage
We have not published a story about this vulnerability yet.