Clone for Windows: Unquoted Search Path or Element
CVE-2025-66271 is a high-severity unquoted search path or element vulnerability in Clone for Windows from Elecom, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.4 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with administrator privileges, without any action from a user. Affected Clone for Windows versions: prior to Ver.2.36. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.17% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Clone for Windows you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECOM | Clone for Windows | prior to Ver.2.36 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- HighAdministrator-level access is required first.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (jpcert.or.jp).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 8.4 | High | CNA (jpcert.or.jp) |
| CVSS 3.0 | 6.7 | Medium | CNA (jpcert.or.jp) |
Official description
Clone for Windows provided by ELECOM CO.,LTD. registers a Windows service with an unquoted file path. A user with the write permission on the root directory of the system drive may execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privilege.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Unquoted Search Path or Element
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Properly quote the full search path before executing a program on the system.
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
More Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities (CWE-428)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Recent Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities
- 8.4 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 7.2 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
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