CVE-2019-16784

mediumpriority · track · 41EPSS 0.007 · 53 %ileexploit · PoCEUUS
grimoire priorityP1 · Urgent
Exploitable?
Public exploit
2 exploits · PoC
Likely / severe?
0.69% (53rd) EPSS
CVSS 4.4 · medium
Is it mine?
3 products
Check your exposure
Who says so?
4 sources
cnnvd · enisa_euvd · osv · nvd

EPSS · scored 2026-10-26

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).

01

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

7.8
010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 4.4–7.8

v2.04.4mediumAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:Pprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 3.4 · impact 6.4
v3.17.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 1.8 · impact 5.9
v3.17highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · ENISA EU
v3.17highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · security-advisories@github.comexploitability 1 · impact 5.9
v3.17highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · OSV
v3.17.4highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:Psecondary · CVSS-BT (t0sche)
02

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

03

exploits (2)

Public proof-of-concept and weaponised exploit code.

04

affected products (3)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

05

advisories (2)

Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.

  • GHSA-7fcj-pq9j-wh2rLocal Privilege Escalation in PyInstaller2020-01-16ghsa · osvUS

    ### Impact Local Privilege Escalation in all Windows software frozen by PyInstaller in "onefile" mode. The vulnerability is present only on Windows and in this particular case: If a **software frozen by PyInstaller in "onefile" mode** is launched by a (privileged) user who has **his/her "TempPath" resolving to a world writable directory**. This is the case e.g. if the software is launched as a service or as a scheduled task using a system account (in which case TempPath will default to C:\Windows\Temp). In order to be exploitable the software has to be (re)started after the attacker has launched the exploit program. So for a service launched at startup, a service restart is needed (e.g. after a crash or an upgrade). While PyInstaller itself was not vulnerable, all Windows software frozen by PyInstaller in "onefile" mode is vulnerable. CVSSv3 score 7.0 (High) CVSSv3 vector CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Affected - all Windows software frozen by PyInstaller in "onefile" mode No affected - PyInstaller itself (except if frozen by PyInstaller in "onefile" mode on Windows) - software frozen in "one*dir*" mode - other platforms (GNU/Linux, OS X, BSD, etc.) ### Patches The problem is patched in commits 42a67148b3bdf9211fda8499fdc5b63acdd7e6cc (fixed code) and be948cf0954707671aa499da17b10c86b6fa5e5c (recompiled bootloaders). Users should upgrade to PyInstaller version 3.6 and rebuild their software. ### Workarounds There is no known workaround. Users using PyInstaller to freeze their Windows software using "onefile" mode should upgrade PyInstaller and rebuild their software. ### Credits This vulnerability was discovered and reported by Farid AYOUJIL (@faridtsl), David HA, Florent LE NIGER and Yann GASCUEL (@lnv42) from Alter Solutions (@AlterSolutions) and fixed in collaboration with Hartmut Goebel (@htgoebel, maintainer of PyInstaller). ### Funding Development PyInstaller is in urgent need of funding to make future security fixes happen, see <https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/issues/4404> for details.

  • PYSEC-2020-1752020-01-14vendor · osvUS

    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).

06

also known as (6)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

07

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

published 2020-01-14modified 2026-06-17
09

references (4)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

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