{"id":"CVE-2021-22038","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2021-22038","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T22:34:01.293Z","title":"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).","description":"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.","published":"2021-10-29T12:15:08.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T03:36:36.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"security@vmware.com","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-330"],"affected":["vmware/installbuilder"],"epss":{"score":0.00994,"percentile":0.62407,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.99%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://blog.installbuilder.com/2021/10/installbuilder-2160-released.html","tags":["Release Notes","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"security@vmware.com"},{"url":"https://blog.installbuilder.com/2021/10/installbuilder-2160-released.html","tags":["Release Notes","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22038","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}