Local code execution via unqualified reg.exe lookup
Published Oct 29, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024
Search-order hijacking in VMware InstallBuilder before 21.6.0 allows local users to execute code through Windows installers. Registry actions invoke reg.exe without enforcing its full system path, so Windows search order selects an attacker-planted executable ahead of the system tool. Exploitation requires prior local access to plant reg.exe before a vulnerable installer or uninstaller runs, and the code inherits that process's security scope.
Summary
What happened
Search-order hijacking in VMware InstallBuilder before 21.6.0 allows local users to execute code through Windows installers. Registry actions invoke reg.exe without enforcing its full system path, so Windows search order selects an attacker-planted executable ahead of the system tool. Exploitation requires prior local access to plant reg.exe before a vulnerable installer or uninstaller runs, and the code inherits that process's security scope.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-22037
- Published
- Oct 29, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2024
- Vendor
- VMware
- Product
- InstallBuilder
- Classifications
- CWE-427, T1574.008
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 29, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 3, 2024Record 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=All InstallBuilder versions prior to version 21.6.0
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
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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