CAPEC-642
Replace Binaries
Adversaries know that certain binaries will be regularly executed as part of normal processing. If these binaries are not protected with the appropriate file system permissions, it could be possible to replace them with malware. This malware might be executed at higher system permission levels. A variation of this pattern is to discover self-extracting installation packages that unpack binaries to directories with weak file permissions which it does not clean up appropriately. These binaries can be replaced by malware, which can then be executed.
On this page
Ask an AI about this attack pattern
Show the prompt
Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-642: Replace Binaries: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/642.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/642?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Prerequisites
The attacker must be able to place the malicious binary on the target machine.
Mitigations
Insure that binaries commonly used by the system have the correct file permissions. Set operating system policies that restrict privilege elevation of non-Administrators. Use auditing tools to observe changes to system services.
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 3.9CVE-2026-14543
The VAPIX Edge storage API, enabling the escalation of user privileges by circumventing filesystem isolation, granting unauthorized access to protected system resources. This flaw can only be exploited after authenticating with an admin-pr…
- 7.4CVE-2026-12963
A vulnerability that could allow a viewer account to gain unauthorized access to network attached storage devices on the server.
- 7.3CVE-2026-112125
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource Vulnerability in HA Monitor. This issue affects HA Monitor: from 01-00 before 01-83-01.
- 7.8CVE-2026-114031
Incorrect permission assignment allows local privilege escalation to SYSTEM on affected releases of the Illumio VEN for Windows. Code execution as NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE on the Windows host is required to exploit this vulnerability. Th…
- 7.8CVE-2026-119474
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource vulnerability in HAVELSAN Inc. Liman Render Engine allows Privilege Escalation. This issue affects Liman Render Engine: before 1.2-81.
- 4.8CVE-2026-124039
Gitleaks through 8.30.1 contains an incorrect permission assignment vulnerability that allows local users to read scan reports because cmd/root.go creates the --report-path file with os.Create and default permissions. Unless --redact is pa…
- 5.3CVE-2026-112910
filelock is a platform-independent file lock for Python. From 3.10.0 until 4.2.1, filelock on Windows ignores the mode argument for WindowsFileLock files and the ReadWriteLock SQLite database. A lock created with mode=0o600 receives the pa…
- 5.3CVE-2026-112908
filelock is a platform-independent file lock for Python. From version 3.30.0 until version 4.2.1, StrictSoftFileLock and AsyncStrictSoftFileLock on POSIX systems create coordination and claim directories without applying the caller’s r…
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-17 Using Malicious Files
Examples
The installer for a previous version of Firefox would use a DLL maliciously placed in the default download di…
The installer for a previous version of Firefox would use a DLL maliciously placed in the default download directory instead of the existing DLL located elsewhere, probably due to DLL hijacking. This DLL would be run with administrator privileges if the installer has those privileges.
By default, the Windows screensaver application SCRNSAVE.exe leverages the scrnsave.scr Portable Executable (…
By default, the Windows screensaver application SCRNSAVE.exe leverages the scrnsave.scr Portable Executable (PE) file in C:\Windows\system32\. This value is set in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop, which can be modified by an adversary to instead point to a malicious program. This program would then run any time the SCRNSAVE.exe program is activated and with administrator privileges. An adversary may additionally modify other registry values within the same location to set the SCRNSAVE.exe program to run more frequently.
MITRE's words, unchanged: CAPEC-642 at MITRE. CAPEC is Copyright © 2007–2026, The MITRE Corporation, used under the CAPEC terms of use: “The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC™) for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE’s copyright designation and this license in any such copy.” CAPEC and the CAPEC logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Credits. All attack patterns.