{"id":"CVE-2019-18988","published":"2020-02-07T16:15:10Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:25:42Z","title":"TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability","vendor":"TeamViewer","product":"Desktop","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"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.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":null,"cvss":{"score":7.0,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.04707,"percentile":0.91781,"date":"2026-10-28","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2022-05-03","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18988","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","exploitedFirstSeen":"2021-11-03","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2021-11-03"}],"evidenceTotal":1,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-521","name":"Weak Password Requirements"}],"references":[{"url":"https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Announcements/Specification-on-CVE-2019-18988/td-p/82264","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/tkb-p/Knowledgebase?threadtype=label&labels=Security","tags":["Broken Link","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://twitter.com/Blurbdust/status/1224212682594770946?s=20","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://whynotsecurity.com/blog/teamviewer/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Announcements/Specification-on-CVE-2019-18988/td-p/82264","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/tkb-p/Knowledgebase?threadtype=label&labels=Security","tags":["Broken Link","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://twitter.com/Blurbdust/status/1224212682594770946?s=20","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://whynotsecurity.com/blog/teamviewer/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-18988","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: shared key enables credential decryption using valid access","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"the same key is used for different customers' installations","start":92,"end":151}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1552","name":"Unsecured Credentials","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: decrypts credentials stored in registry and config files","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"could decrypt protect information stored in the registry or configuration files","start":368,"end":447}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2019-8642","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-8642","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2021-11-03","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":1,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2020-07-13","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/mr-r3b00t/CVE-2019-18988","repos":[{"name":"mr-r3b00t/CVE-2019-18988","url":"https://github.com/mr-r3b00t/CVE-2019-18988","stars":3,"created":"2020-07-13"}]},"metasploit":[{"name":"Windows Gather TeamViewer Passwords","module":"post/windows/gather/credentials/teamviewer_passwords","type":"post","disclosureDate":null,"url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/post/windows/gather/credentials/teamviewer_passwords.rb"}],"first":{"date":"2020-07-13","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/mr-r3b00t/CVE-2019-18988"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["https://whynotsecurity.com/blog/teamviewer/"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1078"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1552"],"provenance":"ai"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-02-07","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18988","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2020-07-13","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/mr-r3b00t/CVE-2019-18988","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-8642","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":157,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":635},"priority":{"score":66.3,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 1821 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":18.36,"detail":"percentile 0.9178"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"1 NVD reference tagged Exploit; 1 PoC-in-GitHub repo; 1 Metasploit module"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":4.9,"detail":"base score 7.0"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}