DLL Injection Privilege Escalation

Description

A DLL search order hijacking vulnerability in Thermalright TR-VISION HOME on Windows (64-bit) allows a local attacker to escalate privileges via DLL side-loading. The application loads certain dynamic-link library (DLL) dependencies using the default Windows search order, which includes directories that may be writable by non-privileged users.\n\n\n\nBecause these directories can be modified by unprivileged users, an attacker can place a malicious DLL with the same name as a legitimate dependency in a directory that is searched before trusted system locations. When the application is executed, which is always with administrative privileges, the malicious DLL is loaded instead of the legitimate library.\n\n\n\nThe application does not enforce restrictions on DLL loading locations and does not verify the integrity or digital signature of loaded libraries. As a result, attacker-controlled code may be executed within the security context of the application, allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.\n\n\n\nSuccessful exploitation requires that an attacker place a crafted malicious DLL in a user-writable directory that is included in the application's DLL search path and then cause the affected application to be executed. Once loaded, the malicious DLL runs with the same privileges as the application.\n\n\n\nThis issue affects \nTR-VISION HOME  versions up to and including 2.0.5.

Scores

EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)

0.20% · top 90% of all CVEs (6 Nov 2026)

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.4.

Weakness

• CWE-829 Inclusion of functionality from untrusted control sphere (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-829 and its CVEs

Affected products

• thermalright · TR-VISION HOME

  • affected < 2.0.5

What to do

Solution: The issue can be resolved by modifying the application to load DLL dependencies using absolute paths or by restricting DLL loading to trusted directories such as system library locations. Additionally, implementing digital signature verification for loaded libraries can prevent malicious DLLs from being executed.

Workaround: Until a vendor patch is available, administrators may mitigate the vulnerability by placing the legitimate DLL dependency in the application's installation directory, ensuring it is loaded before any user-controlled locations in the DLL search order. This reduces the likelihood that a malicious DLL placed in a user-writable directory will be loaded.\n\n\n\nAdditionally, administrators should ensure the application's installation directory is not writable by non-privileged users. Application control mechanisms such as Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) or AppLocker may also be used to restrict the loading or execution of untrusted DLL files. The issue can be resolved by modifying the application to load DLL dependencies using absolute paths or by restricting DLL loading to trusted directories such as system library locations. Additionally, implementing digital signature verification for loaded libraries can prevent malicious DLLs from being executed.

References (1)

• https://www.thermalright.com/support/download/ (opens in a new tab)

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

• CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
• CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
• NVD (opens in a new tab)
• FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
• OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
• GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
• CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)

Badge for a README or a ticket

[![CVE-2026-4255](https://trackcve.app/badge/CVE-2026-4255.svg)](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2026-4255)

Record last updated 16 Mar 2026, 19:03 UTC.