Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows

CVE-2022-26488

In Python before 3.10.3 on Windows, local users can gain privileges because the search path is inadequately secured. The installer may allow a local attacker to add user-writable directories to the system search path. To exploit, an administrator must have installed Python for all users and enabled PATH entries. A non-administrative user can trigger a repair that incorrectly adds user-writable paths into PATH, enabling search-path hijacking of other users and system services. This affects Python (CPython) through 3.7.12, 3.8.x through 3.8.12, 3.9.x through 3.9.10, and 3.10.x through 3.10.2.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.014 (70.7th percentile), scored .

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 71st percentile — 70.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2022-26488: held from 0.014 to 0.014.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.014 · newest: 0.014 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-26488?
CVE-2022-26488 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Untrusted Search Path. CVSS score: 7.0/10. Published 2022-03-10.
How severe is CVE-2022-26488?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.0 out of 10.
Is CVE-2022-26488 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.