Insecure DLL loading in ExifTool - CVE-2018-20211
Published: May 10, 2021
Vulnerability identifier: #VU52994
CSH Severity: Low
CVSSv4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear
CVE-ID: CVE-2018-20211
CWE-ID: CWE-427
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerable software:
ExifTool
ExifTool
Software vendor:
ExifTool
ExifTool
Description
The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.
The vulnerability exists due to the application loads DLL libraries in an insecure manner. A local user can create a "%TEMP%\par-%username%\cache-exiftool-8.32" folder with a victim's username, and then place a malicious ws32_32.dll file into this new folder. the library is loaded with privileges of the victim user once the application is launched.
Remediation
Install updates from vendor's website.