# CVE-2017-11742: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can gain privileges via DLL hijacking in the Expat XML parser on Windows due to an untrusted search path.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** No
- **Published:** 30 Jul 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cgjh-mqgp-mv76

## What is CVE-2017-11742?

CVE-2017-11742 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libexpat Project Libexpat, published on 30 Jul 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The writeRandomBytes_RtlGenRandom function in xmlparse.c in libexpat in Expat 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse ADVAPI32.DLL in the current working directory because of an untrusted search path, aka DLL hijacking.

Weakness: CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-11742?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Libexpat Project Libexpat.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-11742?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-11742 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-11742 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-11742 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Libexpat Project Libexpat

- [CVE-2024-45490](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-45490/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-66046](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-66046/): Expat Denial of Service via storeAtts() Quadratic Complexity (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2021-46143](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46143/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2025-59375](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-59375/): Denial of service in libexpat (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-52425](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52425/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-11742 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-11742 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libexpat Project Libexpat, published on 30 Jul 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-11742 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Libexpat Project Libexpat. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11742/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11742/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-11742
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-11742
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-11742

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11742/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.