SiYuan before 3.8.1 Local Privilege Escalation via Uncontrolled Search Path
siyuan-note · siyuan
Official source article: GitHub GHSA-9J65-967F-5RV3 ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
7.0HighCVSS 4.0
Recommended action
Within 7 days
High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:High, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Evidence used
No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
EPSS is 0.17% for the current model date.
Compensating controls
Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
Confirm that the asset runs siyuan-note siyuan and falls inside the recorded affected range.
Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Optional official sources
National CERT insights ?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.
Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.
Official European source
ENISA European Vulnerability Database
Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.
1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier
EUVD-2026-68235
No EUVD known-exploited evidence
SiYuan Windows installer before version 3.8.1 (affected versions >= 2.0.14) contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in its NSIS installer, which invokes system executables such as TASKKILL by name rather than by absolute path. Because NSIS nsExec::Exec resolves these calls using a search path that includes the installer's own launch directory ahead of System32, an attacker who plants a malicious executable (e.g., a renamed TASKKILL.exe) in that directory can have it executed when the installer runs. These calls occur in electron-builder's preInit hook before the license page is displayed, and with an all-users (elevated) install the planted binary executes with an elevated token, resulting in local privilege escalation.
EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
7.0 · CVSS 4.0
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days
High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.
Patch available
01
What, why and how
SiYuan Windows installer before version 3.8.1 (affected versions >= 2.0.14) contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in its NSIS installer, which invokes system executables such as TASKKILL by name rather than by absolute path. Because NSIS nsExec::Exec resolves these calls using a search path that includes the installer's own launch directory ahead of System32, an attacker who plants a malicious executable (e.g., a renamed TASKKILL.exe) in that directory can have it executed when the installer runs. These calls occur in electron-builder's preInit hook before the license page is displayed, and with an all-users (elevated) install the planted binary executes with an elevated token, resulting in local privilege escalation.
What
SiYuan Windows installer before version 3.8.1 (affected versions >= 2.0.14) contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in its NSIS installer, which invokes system executables such as TASKKILL by name rather than by absolute path. Because NSIS nsExec::Exec resolves these calls using a search path that includes the installer's own launch directory ahead of System32, an attacker who plants a malicious executable (e.g., a renamed TASKKILL.exe) in that directory can have it executed when the installer runs. These calls occur in electron-builder's preInit hook before the license page is displayed, and with an all-users (elevated) install the planted binary executes with an elevated token, resulting in local privilege escalation.
Why
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.
What
SiYuan Windows installer before version 3.8.1 (affected versions >= 2.0.14) contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in its NSIS installer, which invokes system executables such as TASKKILL by name rather than by absolute path. Because NSIS nsExec::Exec resolves these calls using a search path that includes the installer's own launch directory ahead of System32, an attacker who plants a malicious executable (e.g., a renamed TASKKILL.exe) in that directory can have it executed when the installer runs. These calls occur in electron-builder's preInit hook before the license page is displayed, and with an all-users (elevated) install the planted binary executes with an elevated token, resulting in local privilege escalation.
Why
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation ?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No confirmed evidence
No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material ?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.Reference recorded
CISA Vulnrichment records proof-of-concept exploitation in its SSVC data. BlackTree has not independently executed or validated exploit material.
Likely attack path
local access → Uncontrolled Search Path Element → gain additional privileges
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
Passive interaction required
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Not a CVSS 4.0 base metric
Weakness ?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element. The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
CVSS vector ?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System 4.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.ATNoneAttack requirements: No additional deployment or execution condition is required.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UIPassiveUser interaction: A user must unknowingly interact with the vulnerable system.VCHighVulnerable-system confidentiality: A successful attack can cause a major loss.VIHighVulnerable-system integrity: A successful attack can cause a major loss.VAHighVulnerable-system availability: A successful attack can cause a major loss.SCNoneSubsequent-system confidentiality: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SINoneSubsequent-system integrity: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SANoneSubsequent-system availability: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-68235Official EUVD mapping
SiYuan Windows installer before version 3.8.1 (affected versions >= 2.0.14) contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in its NSIS installer, which invokes system executables such as TASKKILL by name rather than by absolute path. Because NSIS nsExec::Exec resolves these calls using a search path that includes the installer's own launch directory ahead of System32, an attacker who plants a malicious executable (e.g., a renamed TASKKILL.exe) in that directory can have it executed when the installer runs. These calls occur in electron-builder's preInit hook before the license page is displayed, and with an all-users (elevated) install the planted binary executes with an elevated token, resulting in local privilege escalation.
Official EUVD record ↗Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20260902Security Bulletin 2 Sept 2026
The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 2 Sept 2026, published on 2 September 2026. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
Status ?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.