CVE-2024-53588
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 DLL hijacking vulnerability in iTop VPN v16.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via placing a crafted DLL file into the path \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6.
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 confidenceA DLL hijacking vulnerability in iTop VPN v16.0 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing a crafted malicious DLL file into the path \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6. The application loads DLLs from this writable directory without proper path validation or verification, causing the attacker's DLL to be loaded with the application's privileges.
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
- 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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Verify iTop VPN installationCheck for iTop VPN installation by looking in Program Files, Program Files (x86), or checking the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an iTop VPN entryAffected if iTop VPN v16.0 is installed on the system
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Confirm installed versionOpen the iTop VPN application and navigate to Help > About, or check the version in the registry or installation directory to confirm it is version 16.0Affected if The installed version is iTop VPN 16.0 exactly
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Check for vulnerable directory pathVerify the existence of the directory \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6 using File Explorer or the command: dir /ad "C:\ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6"Affected if The directory \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6 exists on the system
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Inspect directory permissions and contentsRight-click the vpn6 folder, go to Properties > Security, and check which users have Write or Modify permissions. Also list all files in the directory using: dir "C:\ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6"Affected if Non-admin users or untrusted accounts have Write or Modify permissions to the vpn6 directory, or if unexpected DLL files are present in this directory
A user is affected if iTop VPN v16.0 is installed and the \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6 directory is writable by untrusted users or contains unexpected DLL files that could be hijacked.
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 dataApply vendor security updates for iTop VPN v16.0. Until a patch is available, restrict write permissions on the \ProgramData\iTop VPN\Downloader\vpn6 directory to prevent unauthorized DLL placement, and implement secure DLL loading using absolute paths and digital signature verification.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-53588 — 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-2024-53588 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data