Arbitrary code execution via empty executable path
Published Aug 9, 2022 · Updated Mar 6, 2026
Code injection in Go standard library os/exec before 1.17.11 and 1.18.0-0 before 1.18.3 allows local users to execute binaries on Windows. Cmd.Start proceeds with an empty Cmd.Path instead of rejecting it, causing Windows to launch a working-directory file named ..com or ..exe. Exploitation requires local control of that specially named file and execution of Run, Start, Output, or CombinedOutput with Path unset.
Summary
What happened
Code injection in Go standard library os/exec before 1.17.11 and 1.18.0-0 before 1.18.3 allows local users to execute binaries on Windows. Cmd.Start proceeds with an empty Cmd.Path instead of rejecting it, causing Windows to launch a working-directory file named ..com or ..exe. Exploitation requires local control of that specially named file and execution of Run, Start, Output, or CombinedOutput with Path unset.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-30580
- Published
- Aug 9, 2022
- Updated
- Mar 6, 2026
- Vendor
- Go standard library
- Product
- os/exec
- Classifications
- CWE-94, T1574.008
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 6, 2026Record 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=0 <1.17.11
- Affected versionversion=1.18.0-0 <1.18.3
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.
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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