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.
1786 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-JR5J-7WX2-G59M
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-02-16 21:30 – Updated: 2023-02-28 21:30Uncontrolled search path element in the Intel(R) oneAPI Deep Neural Network (oneDNN) before version 2022.1 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2022-26076"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2023-02-16T20:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Uncontrolled search path element in the Intel(R) oneAPI Deep Neural Network (oneDNN) before version 2022.1 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.",
"id": "GHSA-jr5j-7wx2-g59m",
"modified": "2023-02-28T21:30:18Z",
"published": "2023-02-16T21:30:27Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-26076"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00674.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-JRCC-4C3F-HRM6
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-10-11 18:32 – Updated: 2024-10-11 18:32A DLL hijack vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PC Manager AI intelligent scenario that could allow a local attacker to execute code with elevated privileges.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2024-33581"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2024-10-11T16:15:05Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "A DLL hijack vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PC Manager AI intelligent scenario that could allow a local attacker to execute code with elevated privileges.",
"id": "GHSA-jrcc-4c3f-hrm6",
"modified": "2024-10-11T18:32:48Z",
"published": "2024-10-11T18:32:48Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-33581"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://iknow.lenovo.com.cn/detail/423563"
}
],
"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-JRGQ-CR5H-83PX
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-08 06:31 – Updated: 2026-07-08 06:31Uncontrolled search path element issue exists in Pupsman versions prior to 3.9.0. If a crafted DLL file is placed in the same folder as the affected installer and the installer is executed, arbitrary code may be executed with SYSTEM privilege.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-56437"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-07-08T06:16:22Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Uncontrolled search path element issue exists in Pupsman versions prior to 3.9.0. If a crafted DLL file is placed in the same folder as the affected installer and the installer is executed, arbitrary code may be executed with SYSTEM privilege.",
"id": "GHSA-jrgq-cr5h-83px",
"modified": "2026-07-08T06:31:36Z",
"published": "2026-07-08T06:31:36Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-56437"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN62347140"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.fujielectric.co.jp/products/power_supply/ups/product_detail/software_pupsman.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/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:N/PR:N/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-JRV3-MP53-R7JV
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:48 – Updated: 2022-05-24 17:48A DLL search path vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PCManager, prior to version 3.0.400.3252, that could allow privilege escalation.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2021-3464"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2021-04-27T16:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "A DLL search path vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PCManager, prior to version 3.0.400.3252, that could allow privilege escalation.",
"id": "GHSA-jrv3-mp53-r7jv",
"modified": "2022-05-24T17:48:57Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T17:48:57Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3464"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://iknow.lenovo.com.cn/detail/dc_196156.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-JRVJ-HJX2-HC4M
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 16:54 – Updated: 2022-12-03 00:30IBM DB2 High Performance Unload load for LUW 6.1, 6.1.0.1, 6.1.0.1 IF1, 6.1.0.2, 6.1.0.2 IF1, and 6.1.0.1 IF2 db2hpum_debug is a setuid root binary which trusts the PATH environment variable. A low privileged user can execute arbitrary commands as root by altering the PATH variable to point to a user controlled location. When a crash is induced the trojan gdb command is executed. IBM X-Force ID: 163488.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2019-4447"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2019-08-26T15:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "IBM DB2 High Performance Unload load for LUW 6.1, 6.1.0.1, 6.1.0.1 IF1, 6.1.0.2, 6.1.0.2 IF1, and 6.1.0.1 IF2 db2hpum_debug is a setuid root binary which trusts the PATH environment variable. A low privileged user can execute arbitrary commands as root by altering the PATH variable to point to a user controlled location. When a crash is induced the trojan gdb command is executed. IBM X-Force ID: 163488.",
"id": "GHSA-jrvj-hjx2-hc4m",
"modified": "2022-12-03T00:30:20Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T16:54:48Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-4447"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/163488"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ibm10964592"
}
],
"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-JRXX-7W22-R6P4
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:36 – Updated: 2022-05-13 01:36Advantech WebAccess 8.1 and earlier contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability which may allow an attacker to run a malicious DLL file within the search path resulting in execution of arbitrary code.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-5175"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2018-05-09T19:29:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Advantech WebAccess 8.1 and earlier contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability which may allow an attacker to run a malicious DLL file within the search path resulting in execution of arbitrary code.",
"id": "GHSA-jrxx-7w22-r6p4",
"modified": "2022-05-13T01:36:40Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:36:40Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5175"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-17-045-01"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96210"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-JV59-53F5-37P7
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-05-26 12:30 – Updated: 2025-05-26 12:30A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Wondershare Filmora 14.5.16. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality in the library CRYPTBASE.dll of the file NFWCHK.exe of the component Installer. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. Attacking locally is a requirement. The complexity of an attack is rather high. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-5180"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-426",
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-05-26T10:15:22Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Wondershare Filmora 14.5.16. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality in the library CRYPTBASE.dll of the file NFWCHK.exe of the component Installer. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. Attacking locally is a requirement. The complexity of an attack is rather high. The exploitation is known to be difficult. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.",
"id": "GHSA-jv59-53f5-37p7",
"modified": "2025-05-26T12:30:30Z",
"published": "2025-05-26T12:30:30Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-5180"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://gist.github.com/shellkraft/aa66561e984e83052bd080f195a3ec80"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.310268"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://vuldb.com/?id.310268"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://vuldb.com/?submit.580226"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
},
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/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-JV5M-F67H-GH5C
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 19:19 – Updated: 2022-05-24 19:19Under certain circumstances, when manipulating the Windows registry, InstallBuilder uses the reg.exe system command. The full path to the command is not enforced, which results in a search in the search path until a binary can be identified. This makes the installer/uninstaller vulnerable to Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking, potentially allowing an attacker to plant a malicious reg.exe command so it takes precedence over the system command. The vulnerability only affects Windows installers.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2021-22037"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2021-10-29T12:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Under certain circumstances, when manipulating the Windows registry, InstallBuilder uses the reg.exe system command. The full path to the command is not enforced, which results in a search in the search path until a binary can be identified. This makes the installer/uninstaller vulnerable to Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking, potentially allowing an attacker to plant a malicious reg.exe command so it takes precedence over the system command. The vulnerability only affects Windows installers.",
"id": "GHSA-jv5m-f67h-gh5c",
"modified": "2022-05-24T19:19:14Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T19:19:14Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22037"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://blog.installbuilder.com/2021/10/installbuilder-2160-released.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-JVP2-XQW5-43J5
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-07-24 00:00 – Updated: 2022-08-02 00:00A DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in the uninstaller in Scooter Beyond Compare 1.8a through 4.4.2 before 4.4.3 when installed via the EXE installer. The uninstaller attempts to load DLLs out of a Windows Temp folder. If a standard user places malicious DLLs in the C:\Windows\Temp\ folder, and then the uninstaller is run as SYSTEM, the DLLs will execute with elevated privileges.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2022-36415"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2022-07-23T03:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "A DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in the uninstaller in Scooter Beyond Compare 1.8a through 4.4.2 before 4.4.3 when installed via the EXE installer. The uninstaller attempts to load DLLs out of a Windows Temp folder. If a standard user places malicious DLLs in the C:\\Windows\\Temp\\ folder, and then the uninstaller is run as SYSTEM, the DLLs will execute with elevated privileges.",
"id": "GHSA-jvp2-xqw5-43j5",
"modified": "2022-08-02T00:00:25Z",
"published": "2022-07-24T00:00:34Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-36415"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.scootersoftware.com/support.php?zz=kb_security_2022-02"
}
],
"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"
}
]
}
GHSA-JW24-X846-M6WV
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-17 01:58 – Updated: 2022-05-17 01:58Untrusted search path vulnerability in NFC Port Software remover Ver.1.3.0.1 and earlier allows an attacker to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-2287"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-427"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2017-08-02T16:29:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Untrusted search path vulnerability in NFC Port Software remover Ver.1.3.0.1 and earlier allows an attacker to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.",
"id": "GHSA-jw24-x846-m6wv",
"modified": "2022-05-17T01:58:19Z",
"published": "2022-05-17T01:58:19Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-2287"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN33797604/index.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.