CVE-2024-7253
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 · uneditedNoMachine Uncontrolled Search Path Element Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of NoMachine. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within nxnode.exe. The process loads a library from an unsecured location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. . Was ZDI-CAN-24039.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability is a DLL hijacking/uncontrolled search path issue in nxnode.exe. The application loads libraries from an unsecured location (likely the current working directory or a relative path), allowing a low-privileged attacker to place a malicious DLL that gets loaded with SYSTEM privileges, achieving local privilege escalation.
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>= 7.0, < 7.15.6>= 8.0, < 8.12.13CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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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Check if NoMachine is installedLook for NoMachine installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\NoMachine\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\NoMachine\), or query registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\NoMachine for DisplayNameAffected if NoMachine is not found in expected locations or registry, then the product is not installed and not affected
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Identify the installed NoMachine versionCheck the version in the NoMachine directory: open version.info or nxnode.exe properties, or run 'nxsrvsshd -v' if the service is runningAffected if Version is 7.0 through 7.15.5 (inclusive), or 8.0 through 8.12.12 (inclusive) - these fall within the vulnerable ranges
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Verify nxnode.exe exists and runs as a serviceLocate nxnode.exe in the NoMachine bin directory and check Windows services (services.msc) for 'NoMachine Service' or 'nxnode' service - verify the service runs under SYSTEM or Administrator accountAffected if nxnode.exe exists and runs as a Windows service with elevated privileges, making it a viable target for DLL hijacking
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Check for DLL search path vulnerabilityUse Process Monitor (ProcMon) with filter on nxnode.exe and operation 'Load Image' to observe DLL loading behavior, or use 'dumpbin /imports nxnode.exe' to list static imports and check if nxnode.exe lacks safe DLL search path configurationAffected if nxnode.exe loads DLLs from current working directory, relative paths, or directories writable by low-privileged users without SetDllDirectory() protection
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Test for uncontrolled search path behaviorAs a low-privilege user, create a test DLL (e.g., named after a commonly loaded DLL observed in ProcMon) in a directory where nxnode.exe runs from, then trigger nxnode.exe execution to observe if it attempts to load the DLL from that locationAffected if nxnode.exe loads a DLL placed in the current working directory or an unsecured path, confirming the DLL hijacking vulnerability exists
If NoMachine version falls within 7.0-7.15.5 or 8.0-8.12.12 and nxnode.exe runs with elevated privileges using insecure DLL search paths, the environment is vulnerable to local privilege escalation via DLL hijacking.
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.
dbcve · scoped7.15.68.12.13
Remediate by modifying nxnode.exe to use secure library loading—specify absolute paths for required DLLs, remove '.' from search paths, and use SetDllDirectory() with a safe directory to prevent DLL hijacking.
Nomachine 7.15.6 (for 7.x branch) or 8.12.13 (for 8.x branch)
- 1. Check the current NoMachine version by running 'nxplayer --version' or 'nxnode --version'
- 2. If running version 7.x: upgrade to version 7.15.6 or later
- 3. If running version 8.x: upgrade to version 8.12.13 or later
- 4. Download the appropriate installer from the official NoMachine website (kb.nomachine.com)
- 5. Stop any running NoMachine services before upgrading
- 6. Run the installer with administrator privileges
- 7. Restart the NoMachine services after installation completes
- 8. Verify the new version is installed by checking 'nxnode --version'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-7253 — 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-2024-7253 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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