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CVE-2016-2542: Flexera InstallShield can be tricked to run malicious DLL

CVE-2016-2542 · published 10 years ago

Summary

InstallShield setup programs may load a DLL from the folder they are run in, even if that DLL is placed by an attacker. This lets a local user replace the DLL with malicious code and gain higher system privileges. To protect yourself, ensure only trusted users can write to the directories where InstallShield installers are executed and consider updating to a version that validates the DLL location.

What to do

Update flexera installshield to version 2015 or later.

Affected software

Vendor	Product	Affected versions
flexera	installshield	< 2015 2015 `cpe:2.3:a:flexera:installshield::::::::`

Original advisory text

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Flexera InstallShield through 2015 SP1 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory of a setup-launcher execu...

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/84213 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035097 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://flexeracommunity.force.com/customer/articles/INFO/Best-Practices-to-Avoi... Technical Description Third Party Advisory
https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-20-287-03
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-08 Third Party Advisory

Fix within

Internet-facing 14 days

Internal At next upgrade

Not known to be exploited
Needs hands-on effort to exploit (estimated)
Gives an attacker full control (estimated)

Severity

7.8 High

Exploitation

<1% chance of attack within 30 days

Timeline

Published24 Feb 2016

Updated4 Nov 2026

First seen29 Sep 2026

Sources

CVE-2016-2542 · NVD

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