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

CVE-2024-9495

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
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
DLL hijacking vulnerabilities, caused by an uncontrolled search path in the CP210x VCP Windows installer can lead to privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution when running the impacted installer.

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

DLL hijacking vulnerability in the CP210x VCP Windows installer caused by an uncontrolled search path allows privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution when a user runs the maliciously crafted or compromised installer.

MitigationOnly obtain and run the CP210x VCP installer from verified, trusted sources; organizations should await an official vendor patch addressing the DLL search path issue.

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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 CP210x VCP software is installed
    Check for the presence of Silicon Labs CP210x VCP driver files in common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Silicon Labs\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Silicon Labs\, and look for files named CP210xVCP.exe or similar installer remnants in Add/Remove Programs
    Affected if CP210x VCP software from Silicon Labs is present on the system
  2. Locate the CP210x VCP installer executable
    Search the filesystem for files matching *CP210x*VCP*installer*.exe, *CP210x*.exe, or SiLabs*.exe in user-accessible directories such as Downloads, Temp, or user profile folders using commands like Get-ChildItem -Recurse or dir /s
    Affected if A CP210x VCP installer executable exists in a directory with weak permissions
  3. Check for unauthorized DLLs in installer search paths
    After locating the installer, inspect directories in the Windows PATH environment variable and the installer's execution directory for unexpected DLL files (such as version.dll, setupapi.dll, or other common targets) that may have been planted
    Affected if Unexpected DLL files are found in directories the installer searches or in its execution path
  4. Review system for privilege escalation indicators
    Examine Windows Event Logs (Security and Application logs) around the time the CP210x installer was executed for events indicating new user accounts, privilege changes, or suspicious process execution at elevated privileges
    Affected if Event log entries show creation of unexpected accounts or privilege escalations coinciding with installer execution
  5. Scan for known malicious DLLs associated with this vulnerability
    Use antivirus or endpoint detection software to scan directories where the installer was run for known malicious DLLs that could be loaded via search path hijacking, or manually compare any found DLLs against known malware signatures
    Affected if Antivirus or manual inspection reveals malicious DLLs in installer-related directories

A system is likely affected if the CP210x VCP installer from Silicon Labs has been executed and suspicious DLLs or privilege escalation artifacts are found in associated directories or logs.

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

Only obtain and run the CP210x VCP installer from verified, trusted sources; organizations should await an official vendor patch addressing the DLL search path issue.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available CP210x VCP Windows installer from Silicon Labs (check community.silabs.com or silabs.com for the fixed release version)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed CP210x VCP Windows installer version by checking Add/Remove Programs or the installer properties.
  2. 2. Visit the official Silicon Labs CP210x VCP driver download page or the community.silabs.com reference provided to obtain the latest version.
  3. 3. Download the most recent CP210x VCP Windows installer from the official Silicon Labs website.
  4. 4. Uninstall the current CP210x VCP driver/installer from the system.
  5. 5. Restart the system to ensure all previous driver components are unloaded.
  6. 6. Run the newly downloaded installer with appropriate privileges.
  7. 7. Verify the installation completed successfully and confirm the new version number.
Caveat Standard driver update - verify compatibility with any custom software that depends on specific CP210x driver versions

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-9495 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-9495 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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