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CWE-427 (对搜索路径元素未加控制) — Vulnerability Class 545

545 vulnerabilities classified as CWE-427 (对搜索路径元素未加控制). AI Chinese analysis included.

CWE-427 represents a critical input validation weakness where software relies on an uncontrolled search path to locate resources, allowing unintended actors to manipulate the lookup process. This vulnerability is typically exploited by attackers who place malicious executables or libraries in a directory that precedes legitimate system paths in the search order. When the application executes, it inadvertently loads the attacker-controlled code instead of the intended resource, leading to arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. Developers mitigate this risk by strictly defining absolute paths for all resource lookups, ensuring that the search order is deterministic and immune to directory manipulation. Additionally, implementing secure environment variable handling and validating the integrity of loaded libraries further prevents attackers from hijacking the execution flow through path traversal techniques.

MITRE CWE Description
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors. Although this weakness can occur with any type of resource, it is frequently introduced when a product uses a directory search path to find executables or code libraries, but the path contains a directory that can be modified by an attacker, such as "/tmp" or the current working directory. In Windows-based systems, when the LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx function is called with a DLL name that does not contain a fully qualified path, the function follows a search order that includes two path elements that might be uncontrolled: the directory from which the program has been loaded the current working directory In some cases, the attack can be conducted remotely, such as when SMB or WebDAV network shares are used. One or more locations in that path could include the Windows drive root or its subdirectories. This often exists in Linux-based code assuming the controlled nature of the root directory (/) or its subdirectories (/etc, etc), or a code that recursively accesses the parent directory. In Windows, the drive root and some of its subdirectories have weak permissions by default, which makes them uncontrolled. In some Unix-based systems, a PATH might be created that contains an empty element, e.g. by splicing an empty variable into the PATH. This empty element can be interpreted as equivalent to the current working directo…
Common Consequences (1)
Confidentiality, Integrity, AvailabilityExecute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Mitigations (5)
Architecture and Design, ImplementationHard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
ImplementationWhen invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code ref…
ImplementationRemove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
ImplementationCheck your search path before use and remove any elements that are likely to be unsafe, such as the current working directory or a temporary files directory. Since this is a denylist approach, it might not be a complete solution.
ImplementationUse other functions that require explicit paths. Making use of any of the other readily available functions that require explicit paths is a safe way to avoid this problem. For example, system() in C does not require a full path since the shell can take care of finding the program using the PATH environment variable, while execl() and execv() require a full path.
Examples (2)
The following code is from a web application that allows users access to an interface through which they can update their password on the system. In this environment, user passwords can be managed using the Network Information System (NIS), which is commonly used on UNIX systems. When performing NIS updates, part of the process for updating passwords is to run a make command in the /var/yp directo…
... System.Runtime.getRuntime().exec("make"); ...
Bad · Java
In versions of Go prior to v1.19, the LookPath function would follow the conventions of the runtime OS and look for a program in the directiories listed in the current path [REF-1325].
func ExecuteGitCommand(name string, arg []string) error { c := exec.Command(name, arg...) var err error c.Path, err = exec.LookPath(name) if err != nil { return err } }
Bad · Go
CVE IDTitleCVSSSeverityPublished
CVE-2025-30672 Mite for Perl generates code with an untrusted search path vulnerability — Mite 7.8 -2025-04-01
CVE-2025-26631 Visual Studio Code Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability — Visual Studio Code 7.3 High2025-03-11
CVE-2025-25003 Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability — Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.11 (includes 16.0 - 16.10) 7.3 High2025-03-11
CVE-2025-24998 Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability — Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 (includes 15.0 - 15.8) 7.3 High2025-03-11
CVE-2024-10930 Carrier Block Load Privilege Escalation — Block Load 7.8 -2025-03-04
CVE-2025-1804 Blizzard Battle.Net profapi.dll uncontrolled search path — Battle.Net 7.0 High2025-03-01
CVE-2024-55898 IBM i privilege escalation — i 8.5 High2025-02-24
CVE-2025-1223 An attacker can gain application privileges in order to perform limited modification and/or read arbitrary data — Secure Access Client for Mac 7.1 -2025-02-20
CVE-2024-57964 Insecure Loading of Dynamic Link Libraries in HVAC Energy Saving Program — HVAC Energy Saving Program 7.3 High2025-02-18
CVE-2024-57963 Insecure Loading of Dynamic Link Libraries in USB-CONVERTERCABLE DRIVER — USB-CONVERTERCABLE DRIVER 7.3 High2025-02-18
CVE-2023-31361 AMD Integrated Management Technology 安全漏洞 — AIM-T (AMD Integrated Management Technology) software 7.3 High2025-02-11
CVE-2025-24039 Visual Studio Code Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability — Visual Studio Code 7.3 High2025-02-11
CVE-2025-21206 Visual Studio Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability — Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 (includes 15.0 - 15.8) 7.3 High2025-02-11
CVE-2024-53977 Siemens ModelSim和Siemens Questa 代码问题漏洞 — ModelSim 6.7 Medium2025-02-11
CVE-2024-2658 Local privilege escalation in FlexNet Publisher — FlexNet Publisher 7.8 -2025-01-30
CVE-2024-9499 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in USBXpress Win 98SE Dev Kit installer — USBXpress Win 98SE Dev Kit 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9498 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in USBXpress SDK installer — USBXpress SDK 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9497 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in USBXpress 4 SDK installer — USBXpress 4 SDK 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9496 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in USBXpress Dev Kit installer — USBXpress Dev Kit 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9495 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in CP210x VCP Windows installer — CP210x VCP Windows 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9494 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in CP210 VCP Win 2k installer — CP210 VCP Win 2k 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9493 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in ToolStick installer — ToolStick 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9492 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in Flash Programming Utility installer — Flash Programming Utility 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9491 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in Configuration Wizard 2 installer — Configuration Wizard 2 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-9490 Uncontrolled search path can lead to DLL hijacking in Silicon Labs IDE installer — Silicon Labs IDE (8-bit) 8.6 High2025-01-24
CVE-2024-41739 IBM Cognos Dashboards on Cloud Pak for Data privilege escalation — Cognos Dashboards on Cloud Pak for Data 8.8 High2025-01-24
CVE-2025-21127 Photoshop Desktop | Uncontrolled Search Path Element (CWE-427) — Photoshop Desktop 7.8 High2025-01-14
CVE-2025-0069 DLL Hijacking vulnerability in SAPSetup — SAPSetup 7.8 High2025-01-14
CVE-2024-55540 Acronis Cyber Protect 代码问题漏洞 — Acronis Cyber Protect 16 7.8 -2025-01-02
CVE-2024-55543 Acronis Cyber Protect 代码问题漏洞 — Acronis Cyber Protect 16 7.8 -2025-01-02

Vulnerabilities classified as CWE-427 (对搜索路径元素未加控制) represent 545 CVEs. The CWE taxonomy describes the weakness; review individual CVEs for product-specific impact.