CVE-2023-29069
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 · uneditedA maliciously crafted DLL file can be forced to install onto a non-default location, and attacker can overwrite parts of the product with malicious DLLs. These files may then have elevated privileges leading to a Privilege Escalation vulnerability.
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 confidenceThis is a DLL planting/hijacking vulnerability where a maliciously crafted DLL can be placed in a non-default location and loaded by the affected product. Since the DLL executes with the product's elevated privileges, an attacker can achieve privilege escalation by overwriting or planting malicious DLLs in these locations.
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<= 16.2.1.2016CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Autodesk Desktop Connector versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Desktop Connector*"}' in PowerShell to list the installed versionAffected if The installed version is 16.2.1.2016 or lower
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Locate the application executableFind the Autodesk Desktop Connector installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\Affected if The application is installed and the executable exists in the default or custom installation path
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Inspect DLL search path configurationUse Sysinternal's Process Monitor (procmon.exe) to capture DLL loading activity for DesktopConnector.exe, filtering by Path not containing the installation directory. Alternatively, check application configuration files in the installation folder for unsafe DLL search path settingsAffected if The application loads DLLs from directories outside its installation folder, particularly user-writable locations like the application working directory or temp folders
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Check for unsigned or unexpected DLLs in application directoryReview all DLL files in the Autodesk Desktop Connector installation folder using a tool like sigcheck.exe or by examining file properties to verify digital signaturesAffected if There are unsigned DLLs present or DLLs that do not match the expected Autodesk binaries in the installation directory or subdirectories
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Verify DLL load behavior from non-default pathsUse PowerShell to query loaded modules: Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.ProcessName -like "*DesktopConnector*"} | ForEach-Object { $_.Modules | Select-Object FileName }, then compare each DLL path against the installation directoryAffected if Any loaded DLL originates from a path other than the application\'s installation directory or trusted Windows system directories
A user is affected if Autodesk Desktop Connector version 16.2.1.2016 or lower is installed and the application loads DLLs from directories outside its secure installation path, allowing potential privilege escalation through DLL planting.
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 dataImplement secure DLL loading by using absolute paths, removing unsafe DLL search paths, and validating all loaded DLLs against an allowlist. Ensure only trusted, signed DLLs from secure locations are loaded.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-29069 — 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-2023-29069 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
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