CVE-2024-37142
📋 TL;DR
Dell Peripheral Manager versions before 1.7.6 have a DLL hijacking vulnerability where attackers can place malicious DLLs in locations the software searches before legitimate ones. This allows arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running the software, affecting all users of vulnerable versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Dell Peripheral Manager
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with administrative privileges if exploited by a local attacker who can place malicious DLLs in accessible directories.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running Dell Peripheral Manager.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if users run with minimal privileges and proper file permissions restrict DLL placement.
🎯 Exploit Status
DLL hijacking is a well-known attack vector requiring local file system access but relatively simple to execute.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.7.6
Vendor Advisory: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000225474/dsa-2024-242
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Dell Peripheral Manager version 1.7.6 from Dell's official website. 2. Uninstall previous versions. 3. Install version 1.7.6. 4. Restart the system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict DLL search paths
windowsUse Windows policies or application controls to restrict where DLLs can be loaded from
Use Windows AppLocker or similar to restrict DLL execution from untrusted locations
Run with minimal privileges
windowsEnsure Dell Peripheral Manager runs with standard user privileges, not administrative rights
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove or disable Dell Peripheral Manager if not essential
- Implement strict file permissions to prevent unauthorized DLL placement in application directories
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Dell Peripheral Manager version in Windows Programs and Features or via 'wmic product get name,version'Check Version:
wmic product where "name like 'Dell Peripheral Manager%'" get name,versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 1.7.6 or later in Programs and Features📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Windows Event Logs showing DLL loading from unusual paths
- Process Monitor logs showing DLL hijacking attempts
Network Indicators:
- No direct network indicators - this is a local file system attack
SIEM Query:
EventID=7 OR EventID=11 from Sysmon showing DLL loading from non-standard paths for dellperipheralmanager.exe