# Electron webPreferences vulnerability can be used to perform remote code execution

Advisory record · `GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v`

- **Identifiers:** `GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v` · `CVE-2018-15685`
- **State:** Confirmed
- **Severity:** CVSS 8.1 High
- **Critical:** Yes: CVSS 7+ and EPSS
- **Weakness (CWE):** [CWE-1188](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1188.html)
- **Tags:** [CWE-1188](https://agentprime.io/advisories/tag/cwe-1188.md)
- **Published:** 23 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 8 Nov 2023
- **Reviewed by a person:** No

Published by the GitHub Advisory Database at 23 Aug 2018, 19:12 UTC. agentprime has not analysed this yet, so whether it affects any app is not known.

## Critical

Critical, because:

- CVSS score 8.1 (7.0 or more) and EPSS 0.10 (0.1 or more): a high score and a real chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How we decide what’s critical: <https://agentprime.io/advisories/critical.md>

## Affected packages

- `electron` (npm): affected `>=1.7.0, <1.7.16 || >=1.8.0, <1.8.8 || >=2.0.0, <2.0.8 || >=3.0.0-beta.1, <3.0.0-beta.7`; fixed in `1.7.16`, `1.8.8`, `2.0.8`, `3.0.0-beta.7`

## Not analysed yet

We haven’t published our analysis of this Advisory yet. Once a person has reviewed it, this page will say what’s vulnerable, what has to be true for your app to be affected, and how to check.

## Severity and exploitation

- 8.1 High, CVSS 3.0: `CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`, from GitHub Advisory Database

- **CISA KEV:** Not listed.
- **EPSS:** 0.10, the 95th percentile, on 8 Nov 2026: FIRST’s estimate of the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

## Timeline

This record came from the full history of the GitHub Advisory Database, published 23 Aug 2018. New records show when each source confirmed them.

## Sources

- [GitHub Advisory Database: GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v)
- [OSV: GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v](https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v)
- <https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15685>
- <https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/519a02d8d4d28e8a467acb40fb26172a80c9454f>
- <https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/80221e52d93a96ea704cb6748ead669c55cff504>
- <https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/bab968ca776be28791e4dddfd50c86bd5fae62fa>
- <https://github.com/electron/electron/commit/ef0a6d9a1c96efc4657c6dd3a6624eba969f095b>
- <https://electronjs.org/blog/web-preferences-fix>
- <https://github.com/electron/electron>
- <https://www.contrastsecurity.com/security-influencers/cve-2018-15685>
- <https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45272>
- <https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/732>

Facts on this page come from the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0), OSV and the other sources listed, as published. We don’t reproduce full advisory descriptions, which can contain exploit code.

## Check whether this affects you

A Match means an installed version is in the affected range above. Most don’t affect the app; agentprime hasn’t analysed this one yet.

- With the agentprime MCP server (<https://api.agentprime.io/mcp>), ask your agent to check the project: `check_lockfile` sends a lockfile, `check_packages` a list of installed packages, and both return the Matches and the upgrades that clear them. `get_advisory` returns this record. Setup: <https://agentprime.io/mcp.md>
- In a browser: <https://agentprime.io/check/> reads your lockfile in the browser, never uploading it.
- Whether it touches your code, with file and line: the Claude Code plugin, <https://agentprime.io/plugin.md>
- As JSON: <https://api.agentprime.io/v1/advisories/GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v>, or `POST https://api.agentprime.io/v1/match` with your packages (<https://agentprime.io/api.md>)

---

The web page: <https://agentprime.io/advisories/GHSA-hv9c-qwqg-qj3v/>. Everything for agents: <https://agentprime.io/llms.txt>.