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

CVE-2025-53394

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High

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
Paramount Macrium Reflect through 2025-06-26 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges via a crafted .mrimgx or .mrbax backup file and a renamed executable placed in the same directory. When a user with administrative privileges opens the crafted backup file and proceeds to mount it, Reflect launches the renamed executable (e.g., explorer.exe), which is under attacker control. This occurs because of insufficient validation of companion files referenced during backup mounting.

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

Macrium Reflect fails to properly validate companion files when mounting .mrimgx or .mrbax backup images. An attacker can place a crafted backup file alongside a renamed malicious executable in the same directory; when an administrator opens and mounts the backup, Reflect executes the attacker-controlled executable due to insufficient validation of referenced companion files.

MitigationAvoid opening backup files from untrusted sources and ensure backup files are stored in secured directories with restricted write permissions; verify that only expected executables exist in directories containing backup images.

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
High
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Verify Macrium Reflect is installed
    Check for Macrium Reflect installation by looking in Program Files folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect) or by checking the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry containing 'Macrium Reflect'. Note the installed version from the registry or executable properties.
    Affected if Macrium Reflect is installed and the version falls within any affected version range (compare your installed version to official vendor release notes for this CVE).
  2. Locate .mrimgx or .mrbax backup files
    Search for files with .mrimgx or .mrbax extensions on the system. Use PowerShell command: Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Recurse -Filter *.mrimgx -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object FullName (repeat for .mrbax). Review user documents, backup storage locations, and common imaging directories.
    Affected if The system contains .mrimgx or .mrbax backup files in accessible directories.
  3. Inspect directories containing backup images for unexpected executables
    For each directory containing .mrimgx or .mrbax files, list all files present. Look for executable files (.exe, .bat, .cmd, .ps1, .scr, .com) that are NOT part of Macrium Reflect installation. Use: Get-ChildItem -Path 'PATH_TO_BACKUP_DIR' -File | Where-Object {$_.Extension -match '^\.(exe|bat|cmd|ps1|scr|com)$'}.
    Affected if Unexpected or unknown executable files exist in directories that also contain backup image files.
  4. Review recent backup mounting activity
    Check Windows Event Logs under Microsoft-Windows-Macrium Reflect for recent mount operations. Also review Prefetch files (C:\Windows\Prefetch) for Reflect executable activity. Examine the user account context under which Reflect was run.
    Affected if Macrium Reflect was recently executed by an administrator and mounted backup files from directories containing untrusted companion executables.

A user is affected if Macrium Reflect is installed and any directories containing .mrimgx or .mrbax backup files have unknown or unexpected executable files that could be executed through insufficient companion file validation during mount operations.

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

Avoid opening backup files from untrusted sources and ensure backup files are stored in secured directories with restricted write permissions; verify that only expected executables exist in directories containing backup images.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2025-53394 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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