Local privilege escalation via unquoted uninstaller path
Published Jul 18, 2022 · Updated Apr 15, 2025
Unquoted search path in the FileZilla Client 3.17.0.0 Windows uninstaller allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. The installer stores the spaced path to uninstall.exe without quotation marks, allowing Windows to resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local file placement and a subsequent privileged invocation of the uninstaller; the bounded result is code execution in that invoker's context.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted search path in the FileZilla Client 3.17.0.0 Windows uninstaller allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. The installer stores the spaced path to uninstall.exe without quotation marks, allowing Windows to resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local file placement and a subsequent privileged invocation of the uninstaller; the bounded result is code execution in that invoker's context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2016-15003
- Published
- Jul 18, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 15, 2025
- Vendor
- FileZilla Project
- Product
- FileZilla Client
- Classifications
- CWE-428, CAPEC-38, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 18, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 15, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.17.0.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- FileZilla FTP Client 3.17.0.0 Unquoted Path Privilege Escalationproof of concept · unverified
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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