Uncontrolled Search Path (DLL Hijack)Weakness · CWE-427

CVE-2024-57964

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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
Insecure Loading of Dynamic Link Libraries have been discovered in HVAC Energy Saving Program, which could allow local attackers to potentially disclose information or execute arbitray code on affected systems. This issue affects HVAC Energy Saving Program:.

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 a DLL hijacking vulnerability in HVAC Energy Saving Program where the application insecurely loads dynamic link libraries, potentially from untrusted paths. A local attacker could place a malicious DLL in a location the application searches, achieving information disclosure or arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the affected application.

MitigationThe vendor should fix this vulnerability by implementing secure DLL loading practices: use absolute paths for all DLL references, remove unsafe search path dependencies, and validate DLL signatures before loading. Users should apply vendor patches when available and avoid running the application from untrusted network locations.

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify if HVAC Energy Saving Program is installed
    Search for the application in Program Files directories, check installed programs list via Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, or look for executable files with names like 'HVAC', 'Energy Saving', or similar patterns in the system
    Affected if The application is present on the system
  2. Locate the application executable
    Find the main .exe file for HVAC Energy Saving Program using file search or by right-clicking the application shortcut and selecting 'Open file location'
    Affected if The executable exists and is accessible
  3. Analyze DLL dependencies and loading behavior
    Use tools like 'dumpbin /dependents' on the main executable to list required DLLs, or use Process Monitor during application startup to capture DLL load attempts. Check for DLLs that the application attempts to load from the current directory or untrusted paths
    Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories writable by standard users (current directory, temp folders, or network paths)
  4. Examine application DLL search paths
    Review the application's manifest for loaded assemblies using 'mt.exe -inputmanifest:app.exe' or inspect the executable with a PE analysis tool. Use Process Monitor to filter by 'Path Contains' and observe DLL search order during runtime
    Affected if DLL search paths include locations like '.', '%CD%', or untrusted network paths rather than only secure absolute paths
  5. Verify DLL hijacking opportunity
    Check if any DLL the application attempts to load does not exist in the application directory but would be found in a user-writable location in the search order. List all DLLs the application attempts to load and check each location in the search path hierarchy
    Affected if A missing DLL in the application directory can be placed by an attacker in an earlier search path location

The system is affected if HVAC Energy Saving Program is installed and the application loads DLLs from untrusted or user-writable paths, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL that gets loaded by the application.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

The vendor should fix this vulnerability by implementing secure DLL loading practices: use absolute paths for all DLL references, remove unsafe search path dependencies, and validate DLL signatures before loading. Users should apply vendor patches when available and avoid running the application from untrusted network locations.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-57964 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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