Briefcase: Windows MSI Installer Privilege Escalation via Insecure Directory Permissions

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-33430
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-03-26 17:16:38 UTC
Updated2026-03-30 13:26:50 UTC
DescriptionBriefcase is a tool for converting a Python project into a standalone native application. Starting in version 0.3.0 and prior to version 0.3.26, if a developer uses Briefcase to produce an Windows MSI installer for a project, and that project is installed for All Users (i.e., per-machine scope), the installation process creates an directory that inherits all the permissions of the parent directory. Depending on the location chosen by the installing user, this may allow a low privilege but authenticated user to replace or modify the binaries installed by the application. If an administrator then runs the altered binary, the binary will run with elevated privileges. The problem is caused by the template used to generate the WXS file for Windows projects. It was fixed in the templates used in Briefcase 0.3.26, 0.4.0, and 0.4.1. Re-running `briefcase create` on your Briefcase project will result in the updated templates being used. As a workaround, the patch can be added to any existing Briefcase .wxs file generated by Briefcase 0.3.24 or later.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.3 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.000110000 probability, percentile 0.013430000 (date 2026-04-01)

Problem Types: CWE-732 | CWE-732 CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.3HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.3HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Beeware Briefcase affected >= 0.3.0, < 0.3.26 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/beeware/briefcase/security/advisories/GHSA-r3r2-35v9-v238 [email protected] github.com
github.com/beeware/briefcase-windows-app-template/pull/86 [email protected] github.com
github.com/beeware/briefcase-windows-VisualStudio-template/pull/85 [email protected] github.com
github.com/beeware/briefcase/issues/2759 [email protected] github.com
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