GPMAW 14, a bioinformatics software, has a critical vulnerability related to insecure file permissions in its installation directory. The directory is accessible with full read, write, and execute permissions for all users, allowing unprivileged users to manipulate files within the directory, including executable files like GPMAW3.exe, Fragment.exe, and the uninstaller GPsetup64_17028.exe. An attacker with user-level access can exploit this misconfiguration by replacing or modifying the uninstaller (GPsetup64_17028.exe) with a malicious version. While the application itself runs in the users context, the uninstaller is typically executed with administrative privileges when an administrator attempts to uninstall the software. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker could gain administrative privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the admin, resulting in privilege escalation.
The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.