dbcve.org
Kiwi CattoolsApplication · Solarwinds

CVE-2021-35230

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.11.9 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
As a result of an unquoted service path vulnerability present in the Kiwi CatTools Installation Wizard, a local attacker could gain escalated privileges by inserting an executable into the path of the affected service or uninstall entry.

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 · moderate confidence

This is an unquoted service path vulnerability in the Kiwi CatTools Installation Wizard. The Windows service executable path is not enclosed in quotes, allowing a local attacker to place a malicious executable in an intermediate directory of the path (e.g., C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools\myexe.exe instead of the intended 'C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools\Service.exe'). When the service restarts, Windows searches for executables in unquoted paths without spaces, enabling privilege escalation to SYSTEM level.

MitigationEnsure all Windows service executable paths are properly quoted in service configurations (e.g., "C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools\Service.exe") and review Kiwi CatTools installations for unquoted path vulnerabilities.

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
Kiwi CattoolsApplication
Affected:< 3.11.9

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
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check if Kiwi CatTools is installed
    Look for the Kiwi CatTools installation directory at C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools or check Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'Kiwi CatTools'
    Affected if The application is present on the system
  2. Identify the Kiwi CatTools Windows service
    Open Services console (services.msc) and look for a service named 'Kiwi CatTools' or use command: sc queryex type= service state= all | findstr /i "Kiwi"
    Affected if A service with 'Kiwi' in the name exists
  3. Retrieve the service executable path
    Run command: sc qc "Kiwi CatTools" (replace with actual service name) and examine the BINARY_PATH_NAME field
    Affected if The service exists and has a configured executable path
  4. Check if the executable path is unquoted
    Inspect the BINARY_PATH_NAME from the previous step - verify if the path contains spaces but is NOT enclosed in double quotes (e.g., C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools\Service.exe without quotes)
    Affected if The path contains spaces and is missing surrounding double quotes around the full path
  5. Verify the installed version
    Check the version of CatTools.exe in the installation directory, or run: wmic product where "name like 'Kiwi CatTools'" get version
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.11.9

A user is affected if Kiwi CatTools is installed with a version below 3.11.9 AND the service executable path contains spaces but is not enclosed in double quotes, allowing potential privilege escalation via path injection.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.11.9 or later
Fixed in 3.11.9
Interim mitigation

Ensure all Windows service executable paths are properly quoted in service configurations (e.g., "C:\Program Files\Kiwi\CatTools\Service.exe") and review Kiwi CatTools installations for unquoted path vulnerabilities.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Kiwi CatTools 3.11.9 or later

  1. Obtain Kiwi CatTools version 3.11.9 or later from the official SolarWinds download portal
  2. Stop any running Kiwi CatTools services before upgrading
  3. Create a backup of the existing Kiwi CatTools configuration and any custom scripts
  4. Uninstall the current vulnerable version of Kiwi CatTools
  5. Install the new version 3.11.9 or later using the installation wizard
  6. Restore the configuration from the backup after installation
  7. Verify the service is properly installed and starts successfully
  8. Confirm the service path is now properly quoted or secured
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes between current and new version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Kiwi Cattools Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2021-35230 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data