dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2024-22169

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v4.0 Published 2024-08-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
WD Discovery versions prior to 5.0.589 contain a misconfiguration in the Node.js environment settings that could allow code execution by utilizing the 'ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE' environment variable. Any malicious application operating with standard user permissions can exploit this vulnerability, enabling code execution within WD Discovery application's context. WD Discovery version 5.0.589 addresses this issue by disabling certain features and fuses in Electron. The attack vector for this issue requires the victim to have the WD Discovery app installed on their device.

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

WD Discovery versions prior to 5.0.589 contain a Node.js environment misconfiguration where the ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE environment variable can be leveraged to execute code within the application's context, bypassing Electron's sandbox and running as a regular Node.js process with the application's privileges.

MitigationUpgrade WD Discovery to version 5.0.589 or later, which disables the vulnerable features and Electron fuses to prevent exploitation.

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

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
Authentication
X
User interaction
P
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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. Verify WD Discovery is installed
    Check common installation directories: Windows typically in 'C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD Discovery' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Western Digital\WD Discovery'; macOS in '/Applications/WD Discovery.app'. Also check Start Menu shortcuts or installed programs list.
    Affected if WD Discovery is found installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version of WD Discovery
    Locate the WD Discovery executable (often named WDDiscovery.exe or similar) and view its file properties to find the version number. On Windows, right-click the .exe and select Properties > Details. On macOS, right-click the app > Get Info > Version.
    Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 5.0.589 (e.g., 5.0.588, 5.0.500, etc.)
  3. Confirm vulnerable configuration exists
    The vulnerability is exploitable when the ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE environment variable is set and WD Discovery is launched as a Node.js process. While this is an environment-dependent attack vector, the root cause is the pre-5.0.589 version lacking Electron fuse protections.
    Affected if WD Discovery version is prior to 5.0.589 AND the ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE environment variable can be set by an attacker to invoke the application as a Node.js executable

You are affected if WD Discovery version 5.0.589 or later is NOT installed; versions prior to 5.0.589 contain the exploitable Electron misconfiguration.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade WD Discovery to version 5.0.589 or later, which disables the vulnerable features and Electron fuses to prevent exploitation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

WD Discovery version 5.0.589

  1. Check the current installed version of WD Discovery on the system
  2. Navigate to the official Western Digital website at www.westerndigital.com to download WD Discovery version 5.0.589
  3. Uninstall the current version of WD Discovery from the system
  4. Install the downloaded WD Discovery version 5.0.589
  5. Verify the installation completed successfully and confirm the running version is 5.0.589 or later
Caveat Version 5.0.589 disables certain features and fuses in Electron to address the vulnerability, which may affect some functionality

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

Have this fixed 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-2024-22169 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