CVE-2019-16784
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)…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.69%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
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).
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.69% probability · 53th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-250, CWE-732
- Affected
- pyinstaller/pyinstaller
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 0.7% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/security/advisories/GHSA-7fcj-pq9j-wh2rPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/security/advisories/GHSA-7fcj-pq9j-wh2rPatch, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.