CVE-2019-18988
HIGHCISA KEVEPSS 91th pctlDescription
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.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
High risk: more likely to be exploited than 91% of all known CVEs.
TeamViewer Desktop Bypass Remote Login Vulnerability
TeamViewer Desktop allows for bypass of remote-login access control because the same AES key is used for different customers' installations. If an attacker were to know this key, they could decrypt protected information stored in registry or configuration files or decryption of the Unattended Access password to the system (which allows for remote login to the system).
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-05-03
References
- https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Announcements/Specification-on-CVE-2019-18988/td-p/82264
- https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/tkb-p/Knowledgebase?threadtype=label&labels=Security
- https://twitter.com/Blurbdust/status/1224212682594770946?s=20
- https://whynotsecurity.com/blog/teamviewer/
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-18988
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-11-07.