CVE-2016-2521 Privilege escalation in n/a

High 7.8 Published 28 Feb 2016 Updated 5 Aug 2024

Local attackers can gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory due to an untrusted search path in Wireshark on Windows.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2016-2521?

CVE-2016-2521 is a high-severity vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 28 Feb 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the WiresharkApplication class in ui/qt/wireshark_application.cpp in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.10 and 2.0.x before 2.0.2 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse riched20.dll.dll file in the current working directory, related to use of QLibrary.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2521?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Wireshark Wireshark.

How do I fix CVE-2016-2521?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Is CVE-2016-2521 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2521 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Wireshark Wireshark vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-c44j-w78v-5jr4, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-2521.