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

CVE-2024-9497

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 USBXpress 4 SDK 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 · high confidence

The USBXpress 4 SDK installer suffers from DLL hijacking vulnerabilities due to an uncontrolled search path, allowing attackers to place malicious DLLs in locations where the installer will load them. This enables privilege escalation (likely from user to administrator/system) and arbitrary code execution during the installation process.

MitigationReplace the vulnerable USBXpress 4 SDK installer with a patched version from the vendor that properly secures DLL loading. If a patch is unavailable, implement controls to prevent unauthorized DLL placement in installer search paths and audit systems where this installer was run.

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. Check if USBXpress 4 SDK is installed
    Search for USBXpress installation directories. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Silicon Labs\USBXpress or C:\Program Files (x86)\Silicon Labs\USBXpress. Use: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files*' -Recurse -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*USBXpress*'}
    Affected if USBXpress 4 SDK directory exists on the system
  2. Identify USBXpress SDK version
    Locate the installer executable or installed DLLs within the USBXpress directory. Right-click the file, select Properties, then Details to view the File Version. Or use: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files*\USBXpress' -Recurse -Include *.dll,*.exe | Select-Object Name,VersionInfo
    Affected if The installed version is present and was installed using a vulnerable version of the USBXpress 4 SDK installer
  3. Inspect DLL search paths for suspicious files
    Examine the USBXpress installation directory and parent directories for unexpected DLL files (e.g., not part of the standard SDK). Use: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files*\Silicon Labs' -Include *.dll -Recurse | Select-Object FullName,LastWriteTime
    Affected if Unexpected or recently created DLL files exist in directories the installer uses for DLL loading
  4. Check installer execution history
    Review Windows Event Viewer (Application and System logs) for USBXpress installation events, or check for installer log files in temp directories. Use: Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application';ProviderName='MsiInstaller'} -MaxEvents 50 | Where-Object {$_.Message -like '*USBXpress*'} -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if The USBXpress 4 SDK installer was executed on the system

A system is affected if USBXpress 4 SDK is installed and the original vulnerable installer was used, especially if unauthorized DLLs exist in the installation search paths.

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

Replace the vulnerable USBXpress 4 SDK installer with a patched version from the vendor that properly secures DLL loading. If a patch is unavailable, implement controls to prevent unauthorized DLL placement in installer search paths and audit systems where this installer was run.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-9497 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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