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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2018-10596

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2018-07-03
  • WeaknessCWE-200 · CWE-923

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer uses a virtual private network connection to securely download updates. It does not verify it is still connected to this virtual private network before downloading updates. The affected products initially establish an encapsulated IP-based VPN connection to a Medtronic-hosted update network. Once the VPN is established, it makes a request to a HTTP (non-TLS) server across the VPN for updates, which responds and provides any available updates. The programmer-side (client) service responsible for this HTTP request does not check to ensure it is still connected to the VPN before making the HTTP request. Thus, an attacker could cause the VPN connection to terminate (through various methods and attack points) and intercept the HTTP request, responding with malicious updates via a man-in-the-middle attack. The affected products do not verify the origin or integrity of these updates, as it insufficiently relied on the security of the VPN. An attacker with remote network access to the programmer could influence these communications.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2018-07-0301:29CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-10596?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-10596?format=csv
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Versions per branch

NVD
Medtronic 2090 carelink programmer firmwareversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Vendor advisories

  • ICSMA-18-058-01 CISA2 known affected

    Medtronic 2090 Carelink Programmer Vulnerabilities (Update C)

    29901 Encore Programmer: all versions · 2090 CareLink Programmer: all versions

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsMedtronic has assessed the vulnerabilities and determined that no new potential safety risks were identified. In order to enhance system security, Medtronic has added periodic integrity checks for files associated with the software deployment network. Additionally, Medtronic has developed server-si…
  2. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsMedtronic has deployed mitigating patches to address the reported vulnerabilities. Medtronic has also stated that they have increased security controls associated with these vulnerabilities. As a result of the available mitigating patches, Medtronic has re-enabled the network-based software update …
  3. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsMedtronic has stated that the patch for affected products can be obtained by contacting Medtronic Technical Services at 800 -638 -1991.
  4. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsAfter additional review and risk evaluation of the affected products, Medtronic has disabled the network-based software update mechanism, including both the VPN and the HTTP subservices, as an immediate security mitigation. Users should not attempt to update the affected products over the network a…
  5. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsUsers should still obtain and apply updates via controlled USB dongles and should contact their Medtronic representative for more information.
  6. Vendor fix CISA ICSMA-18-058-01 · 2 productsMedtronic recommends that affected products continue to be used for their intended purpose in the previously described manner. Medtronic has released a security bulletin for the 2090 CareLink Programmer.

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CNACVSS 3.17.1read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.08read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.05.2read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-923read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-200read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.3 %2026-10-22

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2018-07-03
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-10596?

Medtronic 2090 CareLink Programmer uses a virtual private network connection to securely download updates. It does not verify it is still connected to this virtual private network before downloading updates. The affected products initially establish an encapsulated IP-based VPN connection to a Medtronic-hosted update network. Once the VPN is established, it makes a request to a HTTP (non-TLS) server across the VPN for updates, which responds and provides any available updates. The programmer-side (client) service responsible for this HTTP request does not check to ensure it is still connected to the VPN before making the HTTP request. Thus, an attacker could cause the VPN connection to terminate (through various methods and attack points) and intercept the HTTP request, responding with malicious updates via a man-in-the-middle attack. The affected products do not verify the origin or integrity of these updates, as it insufficiently relied on the security of the VPN. An attacker with remote network access to the programmer could influence these communications.

Is CVE-2018-10596 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2018-10596 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.3% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-10596?

CVE-2018-10596 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.1 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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