CWE-427
Allowed-with-ReviewUncontrolled Search Path Element
Abstraction: Base · Status: Draft
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
1898 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-6WQG-VW6J-RQFV
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-07-28 18:31 – Updated: 2025-07-28 18:31DLL hijacking of all PE32 executables when run on Windows for ARM64 CPU architecture. This allows an attacker to execute code, if the attacker can plant a DLL in the same directory as the executable. Vulnerable versions of Windows 11 for ARM attempt to load Base DLLs that would ordinarily not be loaded from the application directory. Fixed in release 24H2, but present in all earlier versions of Windows 11 for ARM CPUs.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-7676"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-07-28T17:15:34Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "DLL hijacking of all PE32 executables when run on Windows for ARM64 CPU architecture. This allows an attacker to execute code, if the attacker can plant a DLL in the same directory as the executable. Vulnerable versions of Windows 11 for ARM attempt to load Base DLLs that would ordinarily not be loaded from the application directory. Fixed in release 24H2, but present in all earlier versions of Windows 11 for ARM CPUs.",
"id": "GHSA-6wqg-vw6j-rqfv",
"modified": "2025-07-28T18:31:29Z",
"published": "2025-07-28T18:31:29Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-7676"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/reidmefirst/vuln-disclosure/refs/heads/main/2025-04.txt"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
]
}
GHSA-6XGF-5P76-74XJ
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-24 21:32 – Updated: 2026-09-24 21:32An uncontrolled search path element in InsightVM assessment content in Rapid7 Insight Agent on Windows allows a local, low-privileged user to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM via a planted executable resolved from the machine PATH.
Assessment content at or below version 0.0.261.0 included a check that invoked the code command without a fully qualified path from a process running as SYSTEM. The command was resolved against the machine PATH environment variable at execution time. Where the machine PATH contained a directory writable by non-administrative users and ordered ahead of the legitimate Visual Studio Code installation, a local user could place an executable named code in that directory and cause the agent to execute it with SYSTEM privileges.
The version range above refers to InsightVM assessment content versions, not Insight Agent versions. All Insight Agent versions were affected while running assessment content at or below 0.0.261.0. Assessment content is delivered to all Insight Agents via the Rapid7 Insight Platform independently of the Insight Agent version and is not customer-managed.
This issue was resolved in assessment content version 0.0.269.0, which was made generally available on September 15, 2026. Remediation was deployed automatically and no customer action is required.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-89325"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-09-24T19:17:19Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "An uncontrolled search path element in InsightVM assessment content in Rapid7 Insight Agent on Windows allows a local, low-privileged user to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM via a planted executable resolved from the machine PATH.\n\nAssessment content at or below version 0.0.261.0 included a check that invoked the `code` command without a fully qualified path from a process running as SYSTEM. The command was resolved against the machine PATH environment variable at execution time. Where the machine PATH contained a directory writable by non-administrative users and ordered ahead of the legitimate Visual Studio Code installation, a local user could place an executable named `code` in that directory and cause the agent to execute it with SYSTEM privileges.\n\nThe version range above refers to InsightVM assessment content versions, not Insight Agent versions. All Insight Agent versions were affected while running assessment content at or below 0.0.261.0. Assessment content is delivered to all Insight Agents via the Rapid7 Insight Platform independently of the Insight Agent version and is not customer-managed.\n\nThis issue was resolved in assessment content version 0.0.269.0, which was made generally available on September 15, 2026. Remediation was deployed automatically and no customer action is required.",
"id": "GHSA-6xgf-5p76-74xj",
"modified": "2026-09-24T21:32:48Z",
"published": "2026-09-24T21:32:48Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89325"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://docs.rapid7.com/insight/release-notes-2026-september/#resolved-cve-2026-89325"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-6XHF-WFX5-W55P
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-05-10 15:30 – Updated: 2024-04-04 03:58Uncontrolled search path in the Intel(R) Unite(R) Plugin SDK before version 4.2 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2022-32576"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2023-05-10T14:15:11Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Uncontrolled search path in the Intel(R) Unite(R) Plugin SDK before version 4.2 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.",
"id": "GHSA-6xhf-wfx5-w55p",
"modified": "2024-04-04T03:58:59Z",
"published": "2023-05-10T15:30:20Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-32576"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00723.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-6XW2-89HR-QC42
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-14 02:50 – Updated: 2022-05-14 02:50DLL Hijacking vulnerability in CorelDRAW X7, Corel Photo-Paint X7, Corel PaintShop Pro X7, Corel Painter 2015, and Corel PDF Fusion.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2014-8393"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2017-08-29T01:35:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "DLL Hijacking vulnerability in CorelDRAW X7, Corel Photo-Paint X7, Corel PaintShop Pro X7, Corel Painter 2015, and Corel PDF Fusion.",
"id": "GHSA-6xw2-89hr-qc42",
"modified": "2022-05-14T02:50:43Z",
"published": "2022-05-14T02:50:43Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-8393"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/129922/Corel-Software-DLL-Hijacking.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2015/Jan/33"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://secunia.com/advisories/62210"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.coresecurity.com/advisories/corel-software-dll-hijacking"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/534452/100/0/threaded"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/72005"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031522"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-729F-RXMP-M7P8
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-05-13 21:30 – Updated: 2025-05-13 21:30Uncontrolled search path for some Intel(R) Advisor software may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-20079"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-05-13T21:16:06Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Uncontrolled search path for some Intel(R) Advisor software may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.",
"id": "GHSA-729f-rxmp-m7p8",
"modified": "2025-05-13T21:30:56Z",
"published": "2025-05-13T21:30:56Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20079"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-01263.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
]
}
GHSA-732P-C5P6-VP34
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-28 18:33 – Updated: 2026-08-26 18:30Adobe Photoshop Installer was affected by an Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerability that could have resulted in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. An attacker could have exploited this vulnerability by placing a malicious library in a directory searched by the installer. Exploitation of this issue required user interaction in that a victim must have been running the installer. Scope is changed.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-48388"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-07-28T18:17:20Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Adobe Photoshop Installer was affected by an Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerability that could have resulted in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. An attacker could have exploited this vulnerability by placing a malicious library in a directory searched by the installer. Exploitation of this issue required user interaction in that a victim must have been running the installer. Scope is changed.",
"id": "GHSA-732p-c5p6-vp34",
"modified": "2026-08-26T18:30:35Z",
"published": "2026-07-28T18:33:04Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48388"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/427.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2360"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-734C-5898-QRPH
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-18 15:31 – Updated: 2026-09-23 18:31When Zabbix Agent was installed on Windows into a custom installation directory, the installer did not verify whether the selected directory had secure access permissions. If the target directory allowed unauthorized users to modify its contents, an attacker could place a malicious DLL that could later be loaded by the application, resulting in DLL sideloading. The installer has been hardened to detect potentially unsafe installation directories and now requires explicit user confirmation before proceeding with installation in such locations. This reduces the risk of accidental installation into directories with inappropriate permissions while preserving compatibility with existing deployment scenarios.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-59781"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-08-18T13:17:25Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "When Zabbix Agent was installed on Windows into a custom installation directory, the installer did not verify whether the selected directory had secure access permissions. If the target directory allowed unauthorized users to modify its contents, an attacker could place a malicious DLL that could later be loaded by the application, resulting in DLL sideloading. The installer has been hardened to detect potentially unsafe installation directories and now requires explicit user confirmation before proceeding with installation in such locations. This reduces the risk of accidental installation into directories with inappropriate permissions while preserving compatibility with existing deployment scenarios.",
"id": "GHSA-734c-5898-qrph",
"modified": "2026-09-23T18:31:11Z",
"published": "2026-08-18T15:31:37Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59781"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://support.zabbix.com/browse/ZBX-28077"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
]
}
GHSA-74J5-MC44-J854
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-08-11 03:30 – Updated: 2024-04-04 06:50Unquoted search path in the software installer for the System Firmware Update Utility (SysFwUpdt) for some Intel(R) Server Boards and Intel(R) Server Systems Based on Intel(R) 621A Chipset before version 16.0.7 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2023-22841"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427",
"CWE-428"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2023-08-11T03:15:17Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Unquoted search path in the software installer for the System Firmware Update Utility (SysFwUpdt) for some Intel(R) Server Boards and Intel(R) Server Systems Based on Intel(R) 621A Chipset before version 16.0.7 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.",
"id": "GHSA-74j5-mc44-j854",
"modified": "2024-04-04T06:50:47Z",
"published": "2023-08-11T03:30:20Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-22841"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00830.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-75FV-95X6-Q4W4
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 19:10 – Updated: 2022-05-24 19:10Acronis True Image prior to 2021 Update 4 for Windows allowed local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2021-32580"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2021-08-05T20:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Acronis True Image prior to 2021 Update 4 for Windows allowed local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking.",
"id": "GHSA-75fv-95x6-q4w4",
"modified": "2022-05-24T19:10:10Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T19:10:10Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32580"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://kb.acronis.com/content/68419"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-75Q5-4HC3-3Q65
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-11-30 09:30 – Updated: 2022-12-02 15:30An uncontrolled search path vulnerability exists in Trellix Agent (TA) for Windows in versions prior to 5.7.8. This allows an attacker with admin access, which is required to place the DLL in the restricted Windows System folder, to elevate their privileges to System by placing a malicious DLL there.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2022-3859"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2022-11-30T09:15:00Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "An uncontrolled search path vulnerability exists in Trellix Agent (TA) for Windows in versions prior to 5.7.8. This allows an attacker with admin access, which is required to place the DLL in the restricted Windows System folder, to elevate their privileges to System by placing a malicious DLL there.",
"id": "GHSA-75q5-4hc3-3q65",
"modified": "2022-12-02T15:30:26Z",
"published": "2022-11-30T09:30:25Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-3859"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://kcm.trellix.com/corporate/index?page=content\u0026id=SB10391"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Mitigation
Strategy: Attack Surface Reduction
Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
Mitigation
Strategy: Attack Surface Reduction
When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code refer to these paths.
Mitigation
Strategy: Attack Surface Reduction
Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
Mitigation
Check your search path before use and remove any elements that are likely to be unsafe, such as the current working directory or a temporary files directory. Since this is a denylist approach, it might not be a complete solution.
Mitigation
Use other functions that require explicit paths. Making use of any of the other readily available functions that require explicit paths is a safe way to avoid this problem. For example, system() in C does not require a full path since the shell can take care of finding the program using the PATH environment variable, while execl() and execv() require a full path.
CAPEC-38: Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths
This pattern of attack sees an adversary load a malicious resource into a program's standard path so that when a known command is executed then the system instead executes the malicious component. The adversary can either modify the search path a program uses, like a PATH variable or classpath, or they can manipulate resources on the path to point to their malicious components. J2EE applications and other component based applications that are built from multiple binaries can have very long list of dependencies to execute. If one of these libraries and/or references is controllable by the attacker then application controls can be circumvented by the attacker.
CAPEC-471: Search Order Hijacking
An adversary exploits a weakness in an application's specification of external libraries to exploit the functionality of the loader where the process loading the library searches first in the same directory in which the process binary resides and then in other directories. Exploitation of this preferential search order can allow an attacker to make the loading process load the adversary's rogue library rather than the legitimate library. This attack can be leveraged with many different libraries and with many different loading processes. No forensic trails are left in the system's registry or file system that an incorrect library had been loaded.