CVE-2018-5731
CWE-20Published: March 22, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
An issue was discovered in Heimdal PRO 2.2.190. As part of the scanning feature, a process called md.hs writes an executable called CS1.tmp to C:\windows\TEMP. Afterwards the executable is run. It is possible for an attacker to create the file first, let md.hs overwrite it, and then rewrite the file in the window between md.hs closing the file and executing it. This can be exploited via opportunistic locks and a high priority thread. The vulnerability is triggered when a scan starts. NOTE: any affected Heimdal products are completely unrelated to the Heimdal vendor of a Kerberos 5 product on the h5l.org web site.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2018-5731 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
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 7.0.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (2)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-20)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2018-5731 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts