CVE-2024-53977

Local privilege escalation via executable search path

Published Feb 11, 2025 · Updated Feb 11, 2025

Uncontrolled search path handling in Siemens ModelSim and Questa before 2025.1 allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. An included example setup script resolves a specified executable from its current working directory instead of a trusted path. Exploitation requires an authenticated local user to place that executable in a user-writable directory and an administrator or elevated process to launch the script there.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled search path handling in Siemens ModelSim and Questa before 2025.1 allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. An included example setup script resolves a specified executable from its current working directory instead of a trusted path. Exploitation requires an authenticated local user to place that executable in a user-writable directory and an administrator or elevated process to launch the script there.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-53977
Published
Feb 11, 2025
Updated
Feb 11, 2025
Vendor
Siemens
Product
Questa
Classifications
CWE-427, T1574.008
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 11, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 11, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <V2025.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Siemens · Questaversion=0 <V2025.1
Siemens · ModelSimversion=0 <V2025.1

Published CVSS scores

6.7Siemens ProductCERTCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.4Siemens ProductCERTCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
T1574.008Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking

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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