KEV Intelligence

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2018-11138

KACE System Management Appliance

Quest / KACE System Management Appliance

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Severity
CVSS 9.8 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
92.1%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2018-11138 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Quest KACE System Management Appliance. The '/common/download_agent_installer.php' script in the Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 is...

Is it exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Quest / KACE System Management Appliance.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

KACE System Management Appliance

The '/common/download_agent_installer.php' script in the Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 is accessible by anonymous users and can be abused to execute arbitrary commands on the system.

Published
31 May 2018
Exploitation Reported
25 Mar 2022
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

malware php ransomware nuclei_scanner cisa metasploit

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 25 Mar 2022

Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.

Used in malware

CISA

Recorded 25 Mar 2022

Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.

Proof of concept available

Nuclei Templates

Recorded 28 Apr 2025

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.

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Source Added
CISA First 2022-03-25 00:00 UTC
CVE 2026-08-13 04:20 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
0
User-Agents
0

Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2018/CVE-2018-11138.yaml 01 Jun 2026
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/unix/http/quest_kace_systems_management_rce.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

92.1%

Weaknesses

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') CWE-78

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 10.0 High

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

Quest KACE System Management Appliance 8.0.318 - Remote Code Execution

nuclei · Created Unknown

quest_kace_systems_management_rce

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2018-11138

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  2. Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  3. Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  4. Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  5. Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  6. First public exploitation report

    Exploit observed in malware

  7. CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  8. CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2018-11138

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2018-11138",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.92061,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

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