CVE-2021-22038

HIGH

Windows Uninstaller - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Description

On Windows, the uninstaller binary copies itself to a fixed temporary location, which is then executed (the originally called uninstaller exits, so it does not block the installation directory). This temporary location is not randomized and does not restrict access to Administrators only so a potential attacker could plant a binary to replace the copied binary right before it gets called, thus gaining Administrator privileges (if the original uninstaller was executed as Administrator). The vulnerability only affects Windows installers.

References (1)

Core 1
Core References
Release Notes, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://blog.installbuilder.com/2021/10/installbuilder-2160-released.html

Scores

CVSS v3 8.8
EPSS 0.0096
EPSS Percentile 56.8%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-330
Status published
Products (1)
vmware/installbuilder < 21.6.0
Published Oct 29, 2021
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026