Local privilege escalation via writable DLL path
Published Jul 17, 2025 · Updated Jul 17, 2025
DLL hijacking in Lenovo TrackPoint Quick Menu before 1.12.54.0 allows local users to run code in a privileged user's session. TPQMAssistant.exe searches its user-writable working directory for a missing hostfxr.dll and loads an attacker-planted library. Exploitation requires planting the DLL locally and waiting for the daily task to run while a privileged user is logged in; the demonstrated result is medium-integrity code in that user's session.
Summary
What happened
DLL hijacking in Lenovo TrackPoint Quick Menu before 1.12.54.0 allows local users to run code in a privileged user's session. TPQMAssistant.exe searches its user-writable working directory for a missing hostfxr.dll and loads an attacker-planted library. Exploitation requires planting the DLL locally and waiting for the daily task to run while a privileged user is logged in; the demonstrated result is medium-integrity code in that user's session.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-1729
- Published
- Jul 17, 2025
- Updated
- Jul 17, 2025
- Vendor
- Lenovo
- Product
- TrackPoint Quick Menu
- Classifications
- CWE-427, T1574.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 17, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 17, 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 <1.12.54.0
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
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
- TPQMAssistant.exe hostfxr.dll sideloading proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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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