CVE-2026-34175 in Hardware-Aware-Automated-MachineLearning NA
Summary
by MITRE • 08/12/2026
Uncontrolled search path for some Hardware-Aware-Automated-MachineLearning NA before version 45cd723 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an escalation of privilege. Unprivileged software adversary with a privileged user combined with a low complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are present without special internal knowledge and requires passive user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2026
The vulnerability described represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the Hardware-Aware-Automated-MachineLearning NA component, specifically affecting versions prior to 45cd723 in Ring 3 user applications. This issue stems from an uncontrolled search path mechanism that allows malicious actors to manipulate the execution flow of legitimate system processes through improper PATH handling. The vulnerability operates at the application layer where user-space programs can influence system behavior by exploiting how the operating system resolves executable paths, creating a dangerous attack surface that bridges user and privileged execution contexts.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves improper path resolution mechanisms within the hardware-aware machine learning framework that fails to validate or sanitize search paths used for locating required binaries or libraries. This weakness creates a classic privilege escalation vector where an unprivileged attacker can place malicious executables in directories that are searched before legitimate system locations, effectively hijacking the execution flow of privileged processes. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path and CWE-284 Improper Access Control, both of which are fundamental security weaknesses that enable unauthorized privilege elevation through flawed access control mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe across all three pillars of information security. The high confidentiality impact indicates that sensitive data could be accessed or exfiltrated through the privilege escalation, while the high integrity impact suggests that system data and configurations could be modified without authorization. The high availability impact demonstrates the potential for complete system disruption or denial of service through manipulation of critical system processes. Attackers with local access and basic user privileges can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity, requiring only passive user interaction such as running a malicious application that triggers the vulnerable search path behavior.
The attack scenario typically involves an adversary who has already gained user-level access to a target system and seeks to elevate privileges to gain administrative or root access. The attack requires minimal specialized knowledge but does depend on having legitimate user access and the ability to influence the execution environment. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where users have broad system access rights, as it provides a pathway for attackers to escalate their privileges through seemingly benign application interactions.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing proper path validation mechanisms within the affected software, ensuring that all search paths are explicitly validated and sanitized before use. The recommended approach includes employing absolute path references for critical system operations, implementing strict directory permissions, and using secure coding practices that prevent the inclusion of untrusted directories in execution paths. System administrators should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies and monitoring for suspicious privilege escalation attempts. This vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1068 Privilege Escalation through path manipulation and T1548 Abuse of Functionality, both of which emphasize the importance of proper access control and execution environment management in preventing unauthorized privilege elevation.
The severity classification of this vulnerability indicates that immediate remediation is necessary, as it represents a critical risk to system security. Organizations should prioritize updating to version 45cd723 or later, while also implementing additional defensive measures such as process monitoring, file integrity checking, and user access control reviews. The impact on system confidentiality, integrity, and availability makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where unauthorized access could lead to complete system compromise. Regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar path manipulation vulnerabilities in other system components, as these types of flaws are common across many software platforms and operating systems.