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CVE Record

CVE-2018-10959: Avecto Defendpoint 4 prior to 4.4 SR6 and 5 prior to 5.1 SR1 has an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability, ex...

Avecto Defendpoint 4 prior to 4.4 SR6 and 5 prior to 5.1 SR1 has an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability, exploitable by modifying environment variables to trigger automatic elevation of an attacker's process launch.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2018-10959 affects older Avecto Defendpoint Windows Client releases. A local attacker could manipulate environment variables so the product automatically elevates an attacker-controlled process. This matters because the vulnerable product is meant to enforce least privilege; compromise weakens that control on managed endpoints.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation where Defendpoint protects privileged access on user workstations or administrative endpoints. The issue undermines a security control, but the bundle does not show active exploitation or remote reachability.

Technical view

The CVE describes an untrusted search path issue in Defendpoint 4 before 4.4 SR6 and 5 before 5.1 SR1. The reported impact is automatic elevation of an attacker process launch after environment variable manipulation. Public bundle data does not provide CVSS, CWE, CPE, or detailed vendor advisory text.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to Windows endpoints running Avecto Defendpoint 4 earlier than 4.4 SR6 or 5 earlier than 5.1 SR1. The source bundle lists affected vendor/product fields as n/a, so asset validation must rely on installed software inventory and vendor release versions.

Exploitation context

The bundle says exploitation involves modifying environment variables to trigger automatic elevation. It does not cite CISA KEV listing, active exploitation, public exploitation in the wild, or remote exploitation. Treat it as local privilege escalation risk unless vendor guidance says otherwise.

Researcher notes

Key gaps are missing CVSS, CWE, CPE, and detailed vendor advisory content in the bundle. Avoid assuming broader BeyondTrust product impact beyond Defendpoint versions explicitly listed. The most defensible validation path is version inventory plus review of vendor release notes.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory endpoints for Avecto Defendpoint Windows Client versions.
  • Upgrade Defendpoint 4 deployments to 4.4 SR6 or later.
  • Upgrade Defendpoint 5 deployments to 5.1 SR1 or later.
  • Review BeyondTrust release notes for supported upgrade paths.
  • Check vendor guidance if upgrades cannot be completed quickly.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether Defendpoint is installed on Windows endpoints.
  • Compare installed versions against 4.4 SR6 and 5.1 SR1 thresholds.
  • Review privilege elevation logs for unusual process launches.
  • Verify endpoint management policies after upgrade.
  • Document exceptions where legacy Defendpoint remains installed.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2018-10959 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.