CVE-2018-19410
CVE-2018-19410 — Paessler PRTG Network Monitor Local File Inclusion Vulnerability
PRTG Network Monitor before 18.2.40.1683 allows remote unauthenticated attackers to create users with read-write privileges (including administrator). A remote unauthenticated user can craft an HTTP request and override attributes of the 'include' directive in /public/login.htm and perform a Local File Inclusion attack, by including /api/addusers and executing it. By providing the 'id' and 'users' parameters, an unauthenticated attacker can create a user with read-write privileges (including administrator).
Published Updated Sources: NVD, CISA, FIRST EPSS
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.
Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Feb 4, 2025
EPSS
98%
top of FIRST's scoreset
CVSS base
9.8
critical · 2 sources
CISA SSVC assessment
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component
Remediation
The vendor's own words where we have them.
Upgrade PRTG Network Monitor to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.
CISA required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Federal deadline Feb 25, 2025 — passed 570 days ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.
- Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
- Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paessler | PRTG Network Monitor | — | Vulnerable |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Availability
High
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Scope
Unchanged
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Vector
Network
Privileges Req
None
User Interaction
None
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | CVSS 3.1 | critical | 3.9 | 5.9 | NVD, CNA |
| 7.5 | CVSS 2.0 | high | 10 | 6.4 | NVD |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA KEV details
CISA lists a CVE here once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
Listed
Feb 4, 2025
Federal deadline
Feb 25, 2025
passed 570 days ago
Ransomware use
Unknown
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a date to argue against.
Public exploit
Capability, not use: code existing is a different claim from anyone running it.
Exploit entries
1
Exploit-DB and CTI exploit indexes
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.
- Search application, proxy, and WAF logs for requests touching /public/login.htm, /api/addusers.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable PRTG Network Monitor.
- Monitor for scanner or exploit-pattern traffic after 1 public PoC repositories were reported.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.
- 2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 9.8 (AV:N)
Jun 17, 2026 · NVD
- 2025
Added to CISA KEV catalog
Feb 4, 2025 · CISA
- 2018
Initial · CVE published
Nov 21, 2018 · NVD
References
4 on the record
- www.ptsecurity.com/ww-en/analytics/threatscape/pt-2018-24/
Third Party Advisory
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-19410
US Government Resource
- www.paessler.com/prtg/history/prtg-18#18.2.41.1652
Vendor Advisory
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-19410
Vendor Advisory
Elsewhere on this site
- Paesslerevery CVE for this vendor
- February 2025what else CISA listed
- Unclassifiedsame class
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record1
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2018-19410 is Paessler PRTG Network Monitor Local File Inclusion Vulnerability, a critical vulnerability affecting PRTG Network Monitor from Paessler. The current evidence lists it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Yes: CISA KEV signal present. Public exploit evidence is: 1 public PoC repositories reported; 0 marked weaponized in current dataset. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 9.8 describes technical severity, while EPSS 98% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.