CVE-2016-7804
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in 7 Zip for Windows 16.02 and earlier allows remote attackers to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.
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 confidence7 Zip for Windows versions 16.02 and earlier contains an untrusted search path vulnerability (DLL hijacking) that allows the application to load malicious Trojan horse DLLs from directories under attacker control, potentially executing code with elevated privileges when users open files or launch the application.
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<= 16.02CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed 7-Zip versionRight-click 7zFM.exe, 7zG.exe, or 7z.exe in the installation folder (typically C:\\Program Files\\7-Zip\\), select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, run 'wmic datafile where "name='C:\\Program Files\\7-Zip\\7zFM.exe'" get Version' or check Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The version number displayed is 16.02 or lower (for example, 16.02, 16.00, 15.14).
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Inspect DLLs in 7-Zip installation directoryList all .dll files in the 7-Zip installation folder (typically C:\\Program Files\\7-Zip\\) and verify each one is a legitimate 7-Zip component such as 7z.dll, 7zxa.dll, or 7zCrc.dll.Affected if Any .dll file in the installation folder is not a standard 7-Zip library, is unsigned, or originates from an untrusted source.
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Check for unauthorized DLLs in accessible pathsExamine directories that 7-Zip might load DLLs from: the 7-Zip installation directory, the current working directory when launching, the user's temp directory (%TEMP%), and directories in the system PATH. List any .dll files present in these locations.Affected if Suspicious or attacker-controlled DLLs exist in any directory that 7-Zip searches when opening files or launching, particularly in writable locations like temp or user folders.
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Verify DLL search path behaviorOpen a command prompt, change to a directory containing a test file, and launch 7-Zip from that directory to open the file. Use process monitoring tools (such as Process Monitor) or examine the DLLs loaded by the 7-Zip process to see if it loads any DLLs from the current working directory.Affected if 7-Zip loads DLLs from the current working directory or from directories outside its installation folder, especially from user-writable locations.
A system is affected if 7-Zip version 16.02 or lower is installed AND there are untrusted or unauthorized DLLs present in directories accessible by the application.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade 7 Zip to a version newer than 16.02 to eliminate the DLL search path vulnerability. Additionally, ensure no untrusted or unauthorized DLLs exist in directories accessible by the application.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7804 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-7804 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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