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Fencer Intel
high 8.8

CVE-2021-22038 json

On Windows, the uninstaller binary copies itself to a fixed temporary location, which is then executed (the originally called uninstaller e…

published 5y ago modified 4mo ago also EUVD-2021-9207

cvss
8.8
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
1.0%
EPSS 1.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 62%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

On Windows, the uninstaller binary copies itself to a fixed temporary location, which is then executed (the originally called uninstaller exits, so it does not block the installation directory). This temporary location is not randomized and does not restrict access to Administrators only so a potential attacker could plant a binary to replace the copied binary right before it gets called, thus gaining Administrator privileges (if the original uninstaller was executed as Administrator). The vulnerability only affects Windows installers.

Patch / fix

  • vmware installbuilder 21.6.0

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Exploit prediction

0.99% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 62% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 6.5 AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Affected products

  • n/a VMware InstallBuilder

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-330 Use of Insufficiently Random Values

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.