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

CVE-2025-0712

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
An uncontrolled search path element vulnerability can lead to local privilege Escalation (LPE) via Insecure Directory Permissions. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of directory permissions. An attacker with local access may exploit this flaw to move and delete arbitrary files, potentially gaining SYSTEM privileges.

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 local privilege escalation vulnerability stemming from insecure directory permissions. An attacker with local access can manipulate directories in the application's search path to move or delete arbitrary files, potentially elevating privileges to SYSTEM level.

MitigationFix directory permission handling to ensure proper access controls on directories used in the search path; restrict local user permissions to prevent manipulation of executable 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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the affected application
    Determine which application on your system uses directories in its search path that could be manipulated. Since no specific product is listed in the CVE, identify applications that load executables or modules from user-writable locations.
    Affected if The application uses directories in its PATH or module search path that are writable by low-privilege users.
  2. Locate directories in the application search path
    For the identified application, examine its configuration, environment variables (PATH), and runtime settings to list all directories it searches for executables, libraries, or modules.
    Affected if The application references directories that exist in shared or writable locations.
  3. Inspect permissions on search path directories
    Use operating system tools to check ACLs or mode bits on each directory in the search path. On Windows, use icacls or AccessChk. On Linux/Unix, use ls -ld or namei -l.
    Affected if Low-privilege users have write, modify, or delete permissions on any directory in the search path.
  4. Verify if directories can be manipulated
    Test whether a low-privilege user account can rename, move, delete, or replace files within the search path directories. Attempt to create symbolic links or hard links if supported.
    Affected if A non-privileged user can alter contents or structure of directories used in the search path.
  5. Check for unsafe PATH or module load configuration
    Review environment variables and application configuration for entries that point to world-writable directories, temp folders, or user-controlled locations.
    Affected if The search path includes directories like temp, public, or shared folders accessible to other users.

You are affected if any directory in the application's search path grants low-privilege users the ability to manipulate files or directory structure, allowing privilege escalation to SYSTEM level.

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

Fix directory permission handling to ensure proper access controls on directories used in the search path; restrict local user permissions to prevent manipulation of executable locations.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-0712 — 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-2025-0712 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