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

CVE-2025-61161

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-29
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 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
DLL hijacking vulnerability in Evope Collector 1.1.6.9.0 and related components load the wtsapi32.dll library from an uncontrolled search path (C:\ProgramData\Evope). This allows local unprivileged attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges to SYSTEM by placing a crafted DLL in that location. The vulnerable component is Evope.Service.exe, which runs with SYSTEM privileges and automatically loads the DLL on startup or reboot.

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

Evope.Service.exe, running with SYSTEM privileges, loads wtsapi32.dll from an uncontrolled search path (C:\ProgramData\Evope). Local unprivileged attackers can place a crafted malicious DLL in this directory to achieve arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM-level privileges during service startup or reboot.

MitigationRestrict write access to C:\ProgramData\Evope to privileged users only, or modify Evope.Service.exe to use safe DLL loading practices (specify absolute path, use LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_SYSTEM_ONLY, or enable safe DLL search mode).

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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. Verify Evope.Service.exe is present
    Search for Evope.Service.exe on the system using: Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Filter "Evope.Service.exe" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue or check installed programs for Evope software
    Affected if Evope.Service.exe is found on the system, indicating the affected software is installed
  2. Confirm C:\ProgramData\Evope directory exists
    Check if the directory exists: Test-Path "C:\ProgramData\Evope"
    Affected if The directory C:\ProgramData\Evope exists, creating the condition for DLL planting
  3. Check if directory is writable by unprivileged users
    Run: Get-Acl "C:\ProgramData\Evope" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Access to view permissions, or attempt to create a test file in that directory from a standard user account
    Affected if Standard users or the Everyone group has Write or Modify permissions on C:\ProgramData\Evope, allowing attackers to place malicious DLLs
  4. Verify service runs with SYSTEM privileges
    Run: Get-Service -Name EvopeService -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Get-WmiObject Win32_Service to check the StartName property, or check via services.msc
    Affected if The Evope service is configured to run as LocalSystem or a SYSTEM-level account, meaning privilege escalation to SYSTEM is possible
  5. Confirm wtsapi32.dll is loaded by the service
    Use Process Explorer or run: tasklist /m /fi "imagename eq Evope.Service.exe" to list loaded modules, or monitor DLL loading during service startup
    Affected if Evope.Service.exe loads wtsapi32.dll from the application directory rather than system paths

The environment is affected if Evope.Service.exe is installed, C:\ProgramData\Evope exists, and that directory is writable by unprivileged users, allowing DLL planting for SYSTEM-level code execution.

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

Restrict write access to C:\ProgramData\Evope to privileged users only, or modify Evope.Service.exe to use safe DLL loading practices (specify absolute path, use LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_SYSTEM_ONLY, or enable safe DLL search mode).

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2025-61161 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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