Zenworks Desktop ManagementApplication · Novell

CVE-2013-1092

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-05-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple unquoted Windows search path vulnerabilities in Novell ZENworks Desktop Management (ZDM) 7 through 7.1 might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse "program" file in the C: folder, related to an attempted launch of (1) ZenRem32.exe or (2) wm.exe.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Unquoted Windows service path vulnerability in Novell ZENworks Desktop Management 7-7.1 where the service executables ZenRem32.exe and wm.exe are launched via unquoted paths containing spaces. Local attackers can place a malicious executable in the C:\ root directory with a name matching the first component of the unquoted path, causing it to execute with SYSTEM privileges when the service attempts to launch.

MitigationEither remove or rename the vulnerable executables if unused, upgrade to a patched version if available, or manually add quotes around the service binary paths in the Windows registry for the affected services.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Zenworks Desktop ManagementApplication
Affected:= 7= 7.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Zenworks Desktop Management installation and version
    Check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Novell\ZENworks\DesktopManagement or look for the product in Add/Remove Programs to verify version 7 or 7.1 is installed
    Affected if Zenworks Desktop Management version 7 or 7.1 is installed on the system
  2. Check ZenRem32.exe service configuration
    Open Services console (services.msc), locate any service using ZenRem32.exe, then check the service binary path in the registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<ServiceName>\ImagePath. Also run 'sc qc <servicename>' from command prompt
    Affected if The ImagePath value contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks
  3. Check wm.exe service configuration
    Open Services console (services.msc), locate any service using wm.exe, then check the service binary path in the registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<ServiceName>\ImagePath. Also run 'sc qc <servicename>' from command prompt
    Affected if The ImagePath value contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks
  4. Inspect root directory for suspicious executables
    List files in C:\ directory using 'dir C:\' or File Explorer to see if any executable files with names matching the first component of any unquoted service path exist (e.g., 'Program.exe' if path is C:\Program Files\...)
    Affected if An executable exists in C:\ whose name matches the first word before a space in an unquoted service path

A system is affected if Zenworks Desktop Management 7 or 7.1 is installed AND either the ZenRem32.exe or wm.exe service has an unquoted path containing spaces, allowing potential executable placement in C:\ that could be hijacked.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Either remove or rename the vulnerable executables if unused, upgrade to a patched version if available, or manually add quotes around the service binary paths in the Windows registry for the affected services.

Fix this in Zenworks Desktop Management Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1092 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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