Local privilege escalation via current-directory shell hijacking
Published Jan 2, 2024 · Updated Nov 20, 2025
Untrusted search path handling in affected Perl for Windows releases allows local users to execute arbitrary code as an administrator. When Perl invokes the Windows shell, its path search checks the current working directory for cmd.exe before trusted system locations. A low-privileged user must plant a malicious cmd.exe in a writable directory that an administrator later uses to launch an executable through Perl.
Summary
What happened
Untrusted search path handling in affected Perl for Windows releases allows local users to execute arbitrary code as an administrator. When Perl invokes the Windows shell, its path search checks the current working directory for cmd.exe before trusted system locations. A low-privileged user must plant a malicious cmd.exe in a writable directory that an administrator later uses to launch an executable through Perl.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-47039
- Published
- Jan 2, 2024
- Updated
- Nov 20, 2025
- Vendor
- The Perl Foundation
- Product
- Perl
- Classifications
- T1574.007
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 20, 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=0 <5.34.3
- Affected versionversion=5.36.0 <5.36.3
- Affected versionversion=5.38.0 <5.38.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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