CVE-2019-16784

Local Privilege Escalation present only on the Windows version of PyInstaller

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: January 14, 2020 at 08:10 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 02:22 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorPyInstaller· also runs on 1 platform

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.7%

Description

In PyInstaller before version 3.6, only on Windows, a local privilege escalation vulnerability is present in this particular case: If a software using PyInstaller in "onefile" mode is launched by a privileged user (at least more than the current one) which have his "TempPath" resolving to a world writable directory. This is the case for example if the software is launched as a service or as a scheduled task using a system account (TempPath will be C:\Windows\Temp). In order to be exploitable the software has to be (re)started after the attacker launch the exploit program, so for a service launched at startup, a service restart is needed (e.g. after a crash or an upgrade).

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 3.6
Affected range stops below 3.6, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
microsoft-windows (environment)

Runs on — not affected

The affected product only carries this flaw when running on these platforms. The platforms themselves are not vulnerable.

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-250CWE-732

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