# CVE-2022-0129: DLL Highjack vulnerability in McAfee TechCheck utility

> A local administrator can escalate privileges to system user by placing a malicious DLL in the application directory, affecting McAfee TechCheck utility.

- **Severity:** High 7.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Jan 2022
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w973-74m8-8xw5

## What is CVE-2022-0129?

CVE-2022-0129 is a high-severity vulnerability in McAfee,LLC McAfee TechCheck, published on 11 Jan 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in McAfee TechCheck prior to 4.0.0.2 allows a local administrator to load their own Dynamic Link Library (DLL) gaining elevation of privileges to system user. This was achieved through placing the malicious DLL in the same directory that the process was run from.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-0129?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mcafee Techcheck.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-0129?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-0129 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-0129 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-0129 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in McAfee,LLC McAfee TechCheck

- [CVE-2019-3667](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3667/): DLL Search Order Hijacking (medium 6.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-0129 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-0129 is a high-severity vulnerability in McAfee,LLC McAfee TechCheck, published on 11 Jan 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-0129 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: McAfee,LLC McAfee TechCheck. 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-2022-0129/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0129/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-0129
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-0129
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-0129

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0129/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.