CVE-2018-6183 in Total Security
Summary
by MITRE
BitDefender Total Security 2018 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service by impersonating all the pipes through a use of an "insecurely created named pipe". Ensures full access to Everyone users group.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6183 resides within BitDefender Total Security 2018, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw that enables local attackers to gain unauthorized system access. This issue stems from the improper creation of named pipes during the software's operation, specifically allowing any user within the Everyone group to impersonate these communication channels. The vulnerability operates at the system level where BitDefender's security mechanisms inadvertently create named pipes with overly permissive access controls that do not adequately restrict user privileges. The insecurely created named pipe mechanism essentially provides a backdoor through which unauthorized users can escalate their privileges to the system level, bypassing the normal security boundaries that should protect the operating system from unauthorized access.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves the manipulation of Windows named pipe communication mechanisms, where the security software creates pipes with default permissions that allow any user in the Everyone group to connect and potentially impersonate legitimate processes. This flaw directly violates the principle of least privilege and represents a classic example of insecure direct object reference vulnerability as classified by CWE-668. The named pipe creation process fails to properly implement access control lists that would normally restrict pipe access to only authorized processes or users with appropriate privileges. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute malicious code with elevated privileges, effectively compromising the entire system security posture that BitDefender is designed to protect against.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-6183 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential full system compromise and denial of service conditions. Local attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain complete control over the affected system, allowing them to execute arbitrary code, modify system files, access sensitive data, or establish persistent backdoors. The vulnerability affects systems where BitDefender Total Security 2018 is installed, creating a persistent threat vector that remains active as long as the vulnerable software remains operational. Additionally, the flaw can be leveraged to cause denial of service conditions by manipulating the named pipe communication channels, potentially disrupting legitimate security operations and system functionality. This vulnerability particularly impacts enterprise environments where BitDefender is widely deployed for endpoint protection, creating a significant risk for organizations that rely on the software for their security infrastructure.
Security mitigations for CVE-2018-6183 require immediate remediation through official vendor patches and updates that properly implement secure named pipe creation mechanisms. Organizations should ensure that all systems running BitDefender Total Security 2018 are updated to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability. System administrators should implement additional monitoring for unauthorized named pipe access attempts and consider temporarily disabling BitDefender services if immediate updates are not available. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper access control implementation in security software and highlights the principle that security tools themselves must be secured against exploitation. Organizations should also consider implementing additional layers of protection such as process monitoring and integrity checking to detect unauthorized access attempts to system resources. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and persistence mechanisms, making it particularly dangerous in adversarial environments where attackers seek to maintain long-term access to compromised systems. The flaw underscores the critical need for security software vendors to implement proper secure coding practices and conduct thorough security testing of their products before deployment.