Is CVE-2018-15542 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2018-15542 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2018-15542 be exploited remotely?

No. CVE-2018-15542 requires physical access to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-15542?

CVE-2018-15542 has a CVSS score of 6.4 (MEDIUM).

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MEDIUM

CVE-2018-15542

CWE-287Published: October 9, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

6.4

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in the org.telegram.messenger application 4.8.11 for Android. The Passcode feature allows authentication bypass via runtime manipulation that forces a certain method's return value to true. In other words, an attacker could authenticate with an arbitrary passcode. NOTE: the vendor indicates that this is not an attack of interest within the context of their threat model, which excludes Android devices on which rooting has occurred

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2018-15542 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 6.4.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-287): Authentication bypass vulnerabilities allow attackers to access protected resources without valid credentials.