NordVPN 3.3.10 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability
Published Mar 27, 2018
8.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 2.60%
Description
NordVPN 3.3.10 for macOS suffers from a root privilege escalation vulnerability. The vulnerability stems from its privileged helper tool's implemented XPC service. This XPC service is responsible for receiving and processing new OpenVPN connection requests from the main application. Unfortunately this XPC service is not protected, which allows arbitrary applications to connect and send it XPC messages. An attacker can send a crafted XPC message to the privileged helper tool requesting it make a new OpenVPN connection. Because he or she controls the contents of the XPC message, the attacker can specify the location of the openvpn executable, which could point to something malicious they control located on disk. Without validation of the openvpn executable, this will give the attacker code execution in the context of the privileged helper tool.
Affected products
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v5
Table of values (18 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 2.60% (0.02597) | 84.78th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 2.74% (0.02744) | 84.20th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | 0.17% (0.00173) | 54.87th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 25, 2024 | 0.17% (0.00173) | 53.84th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 8, 2024 | 0.19% (0.00188) | 55.20th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jan 10, 2024 | 0.14% (0.00135) | 48.68th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Aug 18, 2023 | 0.16% (0.00161) | 52.12th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.17% (0.00173) | 52.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.30% (0.01298) | 68.38th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 20, 2023 | 1.30% (0.01298) | 67.88th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Dec 22, 2022 | 1.19% (0.01190) | 61.18th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Sep 17, 2022 | 1.09% (0.01086) | 51.85th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.09% (0.01086) | 49.83th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.09% (0.01086) | 28.42th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 0.73% (0.00731) | 20.40th | v1 |
| Jan 6, 2022 | 0.73% (0.00731) | 19.82th | v1 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | 0.73% (0.00731) | 49.19th | v1 |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 0.73% (0.00731) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (2)
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/140939 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-015.md x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/140939 | Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://github.com/VerSprite/research/blob/master/advisories/VS-2018-015.md | x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.