CVE-2019-18988 — TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability

Overview

TeamViewer Desktop allows for bypass of remote-login access control because the same AES key is used for different customers' installations. If an attacker were to know this key, they could decrypt protected information stored in registry or configuration files or decryption of the Unattended Access password to the system (which allows for remote login to the system).

Vulnerability details

CVE ID

CVE-2019-18988

Vulnerability

TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability

Vendor

TeamViewer

Affected products

TeamViewer: Desktop

Severity

HIGH

Exploitation status

Actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV)

Published

2021-11-03

Remediation guidance

CVE-2019-18988 is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog — U.S. federal civilian agencies are required to remediate it under Binding Operational Directive 22-01. Treat it as a priority for every environment.

Apply the vendor's official security update for TeamViewer the affected product as soon as possible. Where a patch is unavailable, apply vendor mitigations or isolate/segment exposed systems.

Hunt for indicators of compromise tied to this vulnerability and confirm logging/EDR coverage on affected assets.

Authoritative references

• NVD — National Vulnerability Database
• MITRE CVE Record
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
• FIRST EPSS — Exploit Prediction Scoring