CVE-2026-7279 in AVACAST
Summary
by MITRE • 04/28/2026
AVACAST developed by eMPIA Technology, has a DLL Hijacking vulnerability, allowing authenticated local attackers to place a malicious DLL in a specific directory, resulting in arbitrary code execution with system privileges when the system loads the DLL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2026
The AVACAST software developed by eMPIA Technology presents a significant security weakness through its implementation of dynamic link library loading mechanisms, creating an avenue for privilege escalation attacks. This vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate or authenticate dynamic link libraries during the loading process, allowing attackers with local authenticated access to manipulate the software's execution flow. The flaw specifically manifests when the system attempts to load a required DLL file, providing an opportunity for malicious actors to place their own crafted DLL in the targeted directory structure, thereby enabling unauthorized code execution with elevated privileges.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common software design flaws categorized under CWE-427 and CWE-428, which address uncontrolled search path dependencies and insecure library loading practices. The attack vector requires local authentication access to the system, making it a privilege escalation vulnerability rather than a remote exploit. When the legitimate application attempts to load a required DLL component, the system searches through predefined paths in a specific order, and if a malicious DLL is placed in an earlier search path, the system will execute the attacker's code instead of the intended library. This behavior directly violates secure coding principles that mandate proper validation of all dynamic libraries loaded at runtime.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution capabilities, as it provides attackers with system-level privileges that can be leveraged for further compromise activities. Once successfully exploited, an attacker gains the ability to modify system files, install additional malware, establish persistence mechanisms, and potentially escalate to domain administrator privileges if the target system is part of a larger network infrastructure. The vulnerability affects systems where AVACAST is installed and running with local user accounts that have sufficient permissions to write to the targeted directories. This makes it particularly concerning in enterprise environments where users may have legitimate access to systems but should not possess elevated privilege capabilities.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in relation to ATT&CK framework techniques such as T1059 for command and script interpreter usage, and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, which directly relate to the execution and privilege elevation aspects of this flaw. Mitigation strategies should include implementing proper DLL search path security measures, such as using absolute paths for dynamic library loading, enabling Windows Defender Application Control policies, and ensuring that the affected software is updated with proper authentication and authorization checks. Additionally, administrators should conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate similar insecure library loading patterns in other applications that may be present in the system environment, since this represents a common class of vulnerabilities that can affect multiple software products across different vendors.