CVE-2020-18174

A process injection vulnerability in setup.exe of AutoHotkey 1.1.32.00 allows attackers to escalate privileges

published July 26, 2021

CVSS
—
EPSS
1%
Percentile
70.1
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

⚡ A sneaky process injection in AutoHotkey's setup.exe could let attackers escalate their privileges with a little creativity and a lot of mischief! Think of it like a crafty chef sneaking an extra ingredient into a recipe without anyone noticing — suddenly, a dish that was safe to eat becomes a culinary gamble. If an attacker gets in, they could whip up all kinds of trouble! If exploited, this vulnerability could allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system, enabling them to access sensitive information, modify system files, or even take control of other applications. It's a potential recipe for disaster for anyone relying on AutoHotkey!

Put simply

Think of it like a crafty chef sneaking an extra ingredient into a recipe without anyone noticing — suddenly, a dish that was safe to eat becomes a culinary gamble. If an attacker gets in, they could whip up all kinds of trouble! This process injection vulnerability in AutoHotkey 1.1.32.00 allows an attacker to execute code with higher privileges, bypassing standard security protocols. Essentially, they could manipulate the setup process to run unauthorized commands.

What to do

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the system, enabling them to access sensitive information, modify system files, or even take control of other applications. It's a potential recipe for disaster for anyone relying on AutoHotkey! To remediate this vulnerability, update AutoHotkey to the latest version available, which addresses this issue. Additionally, consider implementing security monitoring to detect any suspicious activity associated with setup.exe. This is fixable! Stay vigilant and follow these steps to keep your system secure. 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS
Not scored
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.01292 · 70.1th percentile
Published
2021-07-26T18:26Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 26 JUL 18:26Z
    A process injection vulnerability in setup.exe of AutoHotkey 1.1.32.00 allows attackers to escalate privileges
    cvelistv5