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

CVE-2025-48496

MEDIUM · 5.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
56/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
Emerson ValveLink products use a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

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

Emerson ValveLINK software uses a fixed search path to locate resources, but one or more directories in that path can be controlled by unintended actors. This uncontrolled search path element (CWE-427) could allow an attacker to place malicious DLLs, configuration files, or other resources in a location where the software will load them, potentially leading to code execution or manipulation of valve control operations.

MitigationReview and harden all directories in the ValveLINK search path by removing world-writable locations, restricting permissions to trusted administrators only, and ensuring the application only loads resources from secured, controlled directories.

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Emerson ValveLINK software is installed
    Check the system for ValveLINK installation directories or look in standard program locations (e.g., C:\Program Files\Emerson, C:\Program Files (x86)\Emerson) for ValveLINK folders. On Windows, also check Add/Remove Programs or the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for ValveLINK entries.
    Affected if ValveLINK software is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed ValveLINK version
    Locate the main executable (typically named ValveLINK.exe or similar) within the installation directory. Right-click the executable, select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, check any README, About, or versioninfo text files distributed with the software.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any affected version range (compare your version to the vendor's advisory)
  3. Identify the ValveLINK search path configuration
    Examine the application configuration files (such as .ini, .cfg, or .xml files) in the ValveLINK installation directory for paths referenced in settings related to resource loading, plugin directories, library paths, or configuration directories.
    Affected if The software uses configurable or fixed paths to locate resources, DLLs, or configuration files
  4. Check permissions on directories in the search path
    For each directory identified in the search path, right-click the folder in Windows Explorer, select Properties, then Security tab. Verify that standard users or unknown accounts do not have Write or Modify permissions. Use the command 'icacls <directory>' from an elevated command prompt for detailed permission listings.
    Affected if Any directory in the ValveLINK search path allows write access to non-administrator or untrusted user accounts
  5. Inspect for unexpected DLLs or configuration files in search path directories
    Review the contents of each directory in the search path for unfamiliar DLL files, unexpected configuration files, or files with recent modification dates that do not correspond to known software updates or installations.
    Affected if Unexpected or unknown DLLs, configuration files, or other resources are present in any directory that ValveLINK uses to locate resources

A user is affected if Emerson ValveLINK is installed, the search path includes directories with weak permissions allowing untrusted write access, and malicious resources could be placed in those locations for loading by the software.

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

Review and harden all directories in the ValveLINK search path by removing world-writable locations, restricting permissions to trusted administrators only, and ensuring the application only loads resources from secured, controlled directories.

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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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-2025-48496 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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