Weakness (CWE)
CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path
The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.
More detail
Some of the most common variants of untrusted search path are:
- In various UNIX and Linux-based systems, the PATH environment variable may be consulted to locate executable programs, and LD_PRELOAD may be used to locate a separate library. Programming languages may have their own paths for locating code, e.g. PERL5LIB in Perl.
- In various Microsoft-based systems, the PATH environment variable is consulted to locate a DLL, if the DLL is not found in other paths that appear earlier in the search order.
How to prevent it (5 mitigations)
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Architecture and Design, Implementation
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.
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Implementation
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.
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Implementation
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.
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Implementation
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.
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Implementation
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 it, while execl() and execv() require a full path.
Source: MITRE CWE-426
374 results · Feed
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High 7.0
Mechrevo Control Center GX V2 reg File uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability was detected in Mechrevo Control Center GX V2 5.56.51.48. Impacted is an unknown function of the component reg File Handler. The manipulation results in uncontrolled search path. The attack needs to be approached locally. The attack requires a…
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Critical 9.6
Zoom Clients for Windows - Untrusted Search Path
Untrusted search path in certain Zoom Clients for Windows may allow an unauthenticated user to conduct an escalation of privilege via network access
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Medium 6.2
Zoom Clients for Windows- Race Condition
Race condition in the installer for certain Zoom Clients for Windows may allow an unauthenticated user to impact application integrity via local access.
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High 7.8
Privilege Ecalation due to Untrusted Search Path Vulnerability
A maliciously crafted binary file, when present while loading files in certain Autodesk applications, could lead to execution of arbitrary code in the context of the current process due to an untrusted search path being utilized.
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Critical 9.0CVE-2025-23266 Public exploit
NVIDIA Container Toolkit for all platforms contains an Untrusted Search Path
NVIDIA Container Toolkit for all platforms contains a vulnerability in some hooks used to initialize the container, where an attacker could execute arbitrary code with elevated permissions. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to escalation o…
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High 8.4
GlobalProtect App: Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability
An incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect™ App on enables a locally authenticated non administrative user to escalate their privileges to root on macOS and Linux or NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on Windows. The GlobalProtec…
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High 8.4
Apache Tomcat: exe side-loading via icalcs.exe in Tomcat installer for Windows
Untrusted Search Path vulnerability in Apache Tomcat installer for Windows. During installation, the Tomcat installer for Windows used icacls.exe without specifying a full path. This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.7, from 10.1.0 thro…
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High 7.5
.NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Untrusted search path in .NET and Visual Studio allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
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High 7.8
Privilege Ecalation due to Untrusted Search Path Vulnerability
A maliciously crafted binary file when downloaded could lead to escalation of privileges to NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM due to an untrusted search path being utilized in the Autodesk Installer application. Exploitation of this vulnerability may lead to code execution.
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High 8.4
DLL Hijacking in Yandex Telemost
Yandex Telemost for Desktop before 2.7.0 has a DLL Hijacking Vulnerability because an untrusted search path is used.
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High 7.8
An untrusted search path vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PC Manager that could allow a local attacker to elevate p…
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Medium 5.9
Perl threads have a working directory race condition where file operations may target unintended paths
Perl threads have a working directory race condition where file operations may target unintended paths. If a directory handle is open at thread creation, the process-wide current working directory is temporarily changed in order to clone that handle for the n…
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High 7.0
Wondershare Filmora Installer NFWCHK.exe uncontrolled search path
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 un…
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High 7.0
Sangfor 零信任访问控制系统 aTrust MSASN1.dll uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability has been found in Sangfor 零信任访问控制系统 aTrust 2.3.10.60 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality in the library MSASN1.dll. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. Local access is required…
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High 8.5CVE-2025-4971 Public exploit
Broadcom Automic Automation Agent Unix privilege escalation
Broadcom Automic Automation Agent Unix versions < 24.3.0 HF4 and < 21.0.13 HF1 allow low privileged users who have execution rights on the agent executable to escalate their privileges.
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High 7.8CVE-2025-4802 Public exploit
Untrusted LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable vulnerability in the GNU C Library version 2.27 to 2.38 allows attacker …
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High 7.0
CBEWIN Anytxt Searcher ATService.exe uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in CBEWIN Anytxt Searcher 1.3.1128.0. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file ATService.exe. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. The attack needs to be approached locally. The comple…
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High 7.0
MTSoftware C-Lodop CLodopPrintService unquoted search path
A vulnerability was found in MTSoftware C-Lodop 6.6.1.1 on Windows. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component CLodopPrintService. The manipulation leads to unquoted search path. The attack needs to be approache…
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High 7.0
Hainan ToDesk DLL File Parser profapi.dll uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability was found in Hainan ToDesk 4.7.6.3. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects unknown code in the library profapi.dll of the component DLL File Parser. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. It is possible to la…
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High 7.0
Shanghai Bairui Information Technology SunloginClient sunlogin_guard.exe uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Shanghai Bairui Information Technology SunloginClient 15.8.3.19819. This affects an unknown part in the library process.dll of the file sunlogin_guard.exe. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search …
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High 7.0
Discord WINSTA.dll uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Discord 1.0.9188 on Windows. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality in the library WINSTA.dll. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. The attack needs to be approa…
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High 7.0
Patch My PC Home Updater System.IO uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability was found in Patch My PC Home Updater up to 5.1.3.0. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing in the library advapi32.dll/BCrypt.dll/comctl32.dll/crypt32.dll/dwmapi.dll/gdi32.dll/gdiplus.dll/imm32.dll/iphlpapi.…
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High 7.0
Mechrevo Control Console GCUService csCAPI.dll uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability was found in Mechrevo Control Console 1.0.2.70. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality in the library C:\Program Files\OEM\MECHREVO Control Center\UniwillService\MyControlCenter\csCAPI.dll of the co…
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Critical 9.3
The passprompt plugin in pppd in ppp before 2.5.2 mishandles privileges.
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High 7.8
Microsoft System Center Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Untrusted search path in System Center allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
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Critical 9.1
aiven-extras allows PostgreSQL Privilege Escalation through format function
aiven-extras is a PostgreSQL extension. This is a privilege escalation vulnerability, allowing elevation to superuser inside PostgreSQL databases that use the aiven-extras package. The vulnerability leverages the format function not being schema-prefixed. Aff…
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Medium 6.3
Local privilege escalation due to a binary hijacking vulnerability. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber …
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Low 3.3
macOS TCC Bypass via Code Injection
Mattermost Desktop App versions <=5.10.0 explicitly declared unnecessary macOS entitlements which allows an attacker with remote access to bypass Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) via code injection.
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Medium 5.2
In JetBrains Runtime before 21.0.6b872.80 arbitrary dynamic library execution due to insecure macOS flags was possible
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High 7.8
Illustrator | Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426)
Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that might allow attackers to execute their own programs, access unauthorized data files, or modify configuration in unexpected ways. If the application use…
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High 7.0
Blizzard Battle.Net profapi.dll uncontrolled search path
A vulnerability was found in Blizzard Battle.Net up to 2.39.0.15212 on Windows and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality in the library profapi.dll. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. The attack needs to…
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High 7.5
MongoDB Shell may be susceptible to local privilege escalation in Windows
mongosh may be susceptible to local privilege escalation under certain conditions potentially enabling unauthorized actions on a user's system with elevated privilege, when a crafted file is stored in C:\node_modules\. This issue affects mongosh prior to 2.3.0
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High 7.5
MongoDB Compass may be susceptible to local privilege escalation in Windows
MongoDB Compass may be susceptible to local privilege escalation under certain conditions potentially enabling unauthorized actions on a user's system with elevated privileges, when a crafted file is stored in C:\node_modules\. This issue affects MongoDB Comp…
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High 7.3
There is a code injection vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS AllSource
There is an untrusted search path vulnerability in Esri ArcGIS AllSource 1.2 and 1.3 that may allow a low privileged attacker with write privileges to the local file system to introduce a malicious executable to the filesystem. When the victim performs a spec…
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Medium 6.8
Local Privilege Escalation in Rufus 4.6 and previous versions
Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives. A DLL hijacking vulnerability in Rufus 4.6.2208 and earlier versions allows an attacker loading and executing a malicious DLL with escalated privileges (since the executable has been g…
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High 7.0
Kong Insomnia profapi.dll untrusted search path
A vulnerability was found in Kong Insomnia up to 10.3.0 and classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing in the library profapi.dll. The manipulation leads to untrusted search path. An attack has to be approached locally. The complexity …
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Low 2.3
Default mimetype known files writeable on Windows
There is a defect in the CPython standard library module “mimetypes” where on Windows the default list of known file locations are writable meaning other users can create invalid files to cause MemoryError to be raised on Python runtime startup or have file e…
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Medium 6.3
Local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking vulnerability. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Prote…
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Medium 6.3
Local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking vulnerability. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Prote…
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Medium 6.3
Local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking vulnerability. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Prote…