CVE-2018-7716: PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.hel

This week

CRITICAL 9.8REMOTEDOWNGRADE

CVE-2018-7716 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.8) affecting privatevpn. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.helper privileged helper tool. This privileged helper tool implements an XPC service that allows arbitrary installed applications to connect and send messages. The XPC service extracts the config string from the corresponding XPC message. This string is supposed to point to an internal OpenVPN configuration file. If a new connection has not

Why this priority

Critical severity
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	9.8 (Critical)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	2.3% (top 16%)
CISA exploited list	No
Published	2018-03-05
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: privatevpn

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2018-03-05 23:29 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 02:03 UTCUpdated Record last modified

privatevpn privatevpn DOWNGRADE

Affected: 2.0.31

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 2.0.31

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy privatevpn || rpm -q privatevpn || privatevpn --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 2.0.31 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison privatevpn sudo apt install privatevpn=<VERSION_BEFORE_2.0.31> sudo apt-mark hold privatevpn

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list privatevpn sudo dnf downgrade privatevpn-<VERSION_BEFORE_2.0.31> sudo dnf versionlock add privatevpn

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2018-7716?

privatevpn: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2018-7716 being exploited?

CVE-2018-7716 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2018-7716 affect?

CVE-2018-7716 affects privatevpn. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.helper privileged helper tool. This privileged helper tool implements an XPC service that allows arbitrary installed applications to

How urgent is CVE-2018-7716?

Priority 60/100. Critical severity; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Software pages

macOS vulnerabilities · OpenVPN vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2018-7715 CRITICAL 9.8 DOWNGRADE PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability with its com.privat.vpn.hel
CVE-2018-7311 HIGH 8.8 DOWNGRADE PrivateVPN 2.0.31 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability

References

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