{"id":"CVE-2019-18988","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2019-18988"],"related":[],"title":"TeamViewer Desktop: TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability","description":"TeamViewer Desktop through 14.7.1965 allows a bypass of remote-login access control because the same key is used for different customers' installations. It used a shared AES key for all installations since at least as far back as v7.0.43148, and used it for at least OptionsPasswordAES in the current version of the product. If an attacker were to know this key, they could decrypt protect information stored in the registry or configuration files of TeamViewer. With versions before v9.x , this allowed for attackers to decrypt the Unattended Access password to the system (which allows for remote login to the system as well as headless file browsing). The latest version still uses the same key for OptionPasswordAES but appears to have changed how the Unattended Access password is stored. While in most cases an attacker requires an existing session on a system, if the registry/configuration keys were stored off of the machine (such as in a file share or online), an attacker could then decrypt the required password to login to the system.","summary":"TeamViewer Desktop used the same hardcoded AES key across all customer installations to protect stored secrets such as the OptionsPasswordAES value and, in older versions, the Unattended Access password. An attacker who obtains that shared key can decrypt these values from the registry or configuration files and log in remotely to affected machines.","severity":"high","cvss":7.0,"epss":0.04707,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"TeamViewer Desktop","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["exploited","remote-access","teamviewer","vendor","windows"],"not_affected_if":["no-unattended-access","patched-version"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2020-02-07T16:15:10+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T20:29:43+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T20:29:43+00:00","category":"vendor","confidence":0.7,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T20:29:43Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","summary":"TeamViewer Desktop used the same hardcoded AES key across all customer installations to protect stored secrets such as the OptionsPasswordAES value and, in older versions, the Unattended Access password. An attacker who obtains that shared key can decrypt these values from the registry or configuration files and log in remotely to affected machines.","category":"vendor","who_cares":["teamviewer","windows","remote-access"],"confidence":0.7,"analyst_note":"Sources do not name a fixed TeamViewer version or a check; find the vendor advisory and the fixed release, and confirm whether the Unattended Access password storage changed in later versions (see NVD and CISA KEV links).","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["patched-version","no-unattended-access"],"severity_if_unknown":"unknown"},"cost_usd":0.000382,"input_tokens":2328,"output_tokens":299,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-18988':11A,14A '-2019':10A,13A '14.7.1965':80C 'access':20B,51B,88C,165C,202C 'across':32B 'ae':30B,104C 'affect':75B 'allow':81C,158C,171C 'appear':195C 'attack':54B,133C,160C,211C,238C 'back':114C 'brows':183C 'bypass':5A,83C 'case':209C 'chang':198C 'configur':68B,149C 'control':89C 'could':140C,239C 'current':126C 'custom':34B,98C 'cve':9A,12A 'decrypt':61B,141C,162C,241C 'desktop':2A,4A,16A,25B,78C 'differ':97C 'exist':214C 'exploit':17B 'far':113C 'file':69B,150C,182C,233C 'hardcod':29B 'headless':181C 'inform':143C 'instal':35B,99C,108C 'key':31B,59B,93C,105C,138C,191C,222C 'know':136C 'latest':185C 'least':111C,122C 'log':71B 'login':7A,87C,174C,246C 'machin':76B,228C 'obtain':56B 'older':47B 'onlin':236C 'optionpassworda':193C 'optionspassworda':43B,123C 'password':52B,166C,203C,244C 'product':130C 'protect':37B,142C 'registri':66B,147C 'registry/configuration':221C 'remot':6A,19B,73B,86C,173C 'remote-access':18B 'remote-login':85C 'requir':212C,243C 'secret':39B 'session':215C 'share':58B,103C,234C 'sinc':109C 'still':187C 'store':38B,144C,205C,224C 'system':169C,177C,218C,249C 'teamview':1A,3A,21B,24B,77C,152C 'teamviewer':15A 'unattend':50B,164C,201C 'use':26B,95C,101C,118C,188C 'v7.0.43148':116C 'v9.x':156C 'valu':44B,63B 'vendor':22B 'version':48B,127C,154C,186C 'vulner':8A 'well':179C 'window':23B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2020-02-07T16:15:10+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2022-05-03","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"nvd@nist.gov","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2019-18988","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2019-18988","severity":null,"published_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T17:39:59+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2019-18988","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2019-18988","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2019-18988","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18988","severity":null,"published_at":"2020-02-07T16:15:10+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T02:25:42+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:35:23+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:35:23+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}