Steam Client
CVE-2019-17180
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local attacker with access to the system could access files and directories outside the intended path. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAI
Valve Steam Client before 2019-09-12 allows placing or appending partially controlled filesystem content, as demonstrated by file modifications on Windows in the context of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
RemediationAI
No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Validate and canonicalize file paths. Use chroot or sandboxing. Reject input containing path separators or '../' sequences.
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in pypi
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22), which allows attackers to access files and directories outside the intended path. Valve Steam Client before 2019-09-12 allows placing or appending partially controlled filesystem content, as demonstrated by file modifications on Windows in the context of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. This could lead to denial of service, elevation of privilege, or unspecified other impact. Affected products include: Valvesoftware Steam Client. Version information: before 2019.
Know when Steam Client gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
Valve Steam Client before 2019-09-12 allows placing or appending partially controlled filesystem content, as demonstrated by file modifications on Windows in the context of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. This could lead to denial of service, elevation of privilege, or unspecified other impact.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Affected Products (CPE)NVD
More in Steam Client
View allValve Steam before 2021-04-17, when a Source engine game is installed, allows remote authenticated users to execute arbi
An issue was discovered in Valve Steam Client 2.10.91.91. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low atta
Valve Steam 2.10.91.91 uses weak permissions (Users: read and write) for the Install folder, which allows local users to
Valve Steam Client for Windows through 2019-08-20 has weak folder permissions, leading to privilege escalation (to NT AU
In Valve Steam Client for Windows through 2019-08-07, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\Steam has explicit "Full control"
Valve Steam Client for Windows through 2019-08-16 allows privilege escalation (to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM) because local use
The client detection protocol in Valve Steam allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (process crash) via a
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB