CVE-2018-11138

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.

CVSS: 9.8Criticalscored by CISA
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 25 Mar 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 15 Apr 2022known use in ransomware campaignspublic exploit code
EPSS: 91.6%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published: 31 May 2018analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)

Summary

Triage

Attack surface: Server-side
Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: network
Weakness: CWE-78 OS Command Injection
Can a WAF block it?: Partly. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

quest:kace_system_management_appliance

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? Partly. OS command injection puts shell syntax into the request. WAF rules catch common shell commands but miss encoded or unusual payloads.

Also consider: shlex/execve-style APIs

Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 25 Mar 2022. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
CISA due date: 15 Apr 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code: Yes: 3 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module · 1 Nuclei template
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 21 Mar 2022 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

31 May 2018Published
27 Jun 2018First public exploit or proof of concept26 days later
21 Mar 2022CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active1,363 days (about 4 years) later
25 Mar 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)4 days later
15 Apr 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
13 Aug 2026CVE record last updated1,581 days (about 4 years) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com91 days (about 3 months) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network.	Reachable over the internet or any routable network.
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	NoneNo victim action needed.	No victim action needed.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2018-11138 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-11138 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2018-11138?

CVE-2018-11138 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2018-11138?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2018-11138. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2018-11138 affect?

CVE-2018-11138 affects quest:kace_system_management_appliance. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

3 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Exploits (1)

exploit-db.com /exploits/44950/

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Exploit-DB: published exploits
Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
Nuclei templates: detection templates

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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