dbcve.org
Beyond CompareApplication · Scootersoftware

CVE-2022-36415

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.4.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
A DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in the uninstaller in Scooter Beyond Compare 1.8a through 4.4.2 before 4.4.3 when installed via the EXE installer. The uninstaller attempts to load DLLs out of a Windows Temp folder. If a standard user places malicious DLLs in the C:\Windows\Temp\ folder, and then the uninstaller is run as SYSTEM, the DLLs will execute with elevated privileges.

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

This is a DLL hijacking vulnerability in the Scooter Beyond Compare uninstaller (versions 1.8a through 4.4.2). The uninstaller loads DLLs from the Windows Temp folder (C:\Windows\Temp\) without proper validation. A standard user can place a malicious DLL in this folder, which will be executed with SYSTEM privileges when the uninstaller runs with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Beyond Compare to version 4.4.3 or later, which contains the fix for this DLL hijacking vulnerability. As an interim measure, ensure only trusted users have access to the system and avoid running the uninstaller with elevated privileges unless necessary.

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
Beyond CompareApplication
Affected:>= 1.8a, < 4.4.3

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

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Find Beyond Compare installation and version
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Beyond Compare' in the list, and note the installed version. Alternatively, check the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{BeyondCompare GUID} (the GUID varies) or check the installation directory typically at C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 4\ and look for a version file or the exe properties.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.8a or higher but lower than 4.4.3 (for example, 4.4.0, 4.3.0, 3.x.x, 2.x.x, 1.8b).
  2. Locate the Beyond Compare uninstaller
    The uninstaller is typically named 'uninst.exe' or 'uninstall.exe' and is located in the Beyond Compare installation folder (for example, C:\Program Files\Beyond Compare 4\uninst.exe). Verify this file exists on the system.
    Affected if The uninstaller file exists on the system.
  3. Check Temp folder permissions for standard users
    Open File Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\Temp\, right-click and go to Properties > Security tab. Review the permissions for the 'Users' group or standard user accounts. Alternatively, run 'icacls C:\Windows\Temp' from an elevated command prompt to see the access control list.
    Affected if Standard (non-admin) users have Write or Modify permissions to C:\Windows\Temp\, allowing them to place a malicious DLL that the uninstaller will load.
  4. Check if uninstaller has been run with elevated privileges
    Review Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Security for Event ID 4688 (Process Creation) looking for 'uninst.exe' or 'uninstall.exe' from the Beyond Compare folder being executed with elevated tokens. Alternatively, check if the uninstaller was ever run by reviewing installation logs or the user's recent program execution history.
    Affected if The uninstaller has been executed with SYSTEM or elevated administrator privileges after a malicious DLL was placed in C:\Windows\Temp\.

You are affected if Beyond Compare version is between 1.8a and 4.4.2 inclusive AND standard users can write to C:\Windows\Temp\ AND the uninstaller has been run with elevated privileges.

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 4.4.3 or later
Fixed in 4.4.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Beyond Compare to version 4.4.3 or later, which contains the fix for this DLL hijacking vulnerability. As an interim measure, ensure only trusted users have access to the system and avoid running the uninstaller with elevated privileges unless necessary.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Beyond Compare version 4.4.3 or later

  1. Navigate to the official Scooter Software website (www.scootersoftware.com) and locate the download page for Beyond Compare
  2. Download the latest version (4.4.3 or later) of Beyond Compare
  3. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  4. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About Beyond Compare

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

Fix this in Beyond Compare Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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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-2022-36415 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
  • 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