# CVE-2022-36438: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Weak file permissions in AsusSwitch.exe allow local attackers to escalate privileges and arbitrarily delete system files on ASUS Windows PCs.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** 18 Oct 2022
- **Updated:** 13 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j474-2x28-2gg2

## What is CVE-2022-36438?

CVE-2022-36438 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 18 Oct 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

AsusSwitch.exe on ASUS personal computers (running Windows) sets weak file permissions, leading to local privilege escalation (this also can be used to delete files within the system arbitrarily). This affects ASUS System Control Interface 3 before 3.1.5.0, and AsusSwitch.exe before 1.0.10.0.

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-36438?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Asus Asusswitch, Asus System Control Interface.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-36438?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-36438 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-36438 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-36438 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-36438 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-36438 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 18 Oct 2022. 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-2022-36438 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2022-36438/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36438/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-36438
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-36438
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-36438

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36438/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.