Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Prior to versions 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, and 41.0.0-beta.8, on Windows, app.setLoginItemSettings({openAtLogin: true}) wrote the executable path to the Run registry key without quoting. If the app is installed to a path containing spaces, an attacker with write access to an ancestor directory may be able to cause a different executable to run at login instead of the intended app. On a default Windows install, standard system directories are protected against writes by standard users, so exploitation typically requires a non-standard install location. This issue has been patched in versions 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, and 41.0.0-beta.8.
Weakness
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electron | Electronjs | * | 38.8.6 (excluding) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 39.0.0 (including) | 39.8.1 (excluding) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 40.0.0 (including) | 40.8.0 (excluding) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha1 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha1 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha2 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha2 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha3 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha3 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha4 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha4 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha5 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha5 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-alpha6 (including) | 41.0.0-alpha6 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta1 (including) | 41.0.0-beta1 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta2 (including) | 41.0.0-beta2 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta3 (including) | 41.0.0-beta3 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta4 (including) | 41.0.0-beta4 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta5 (including) | 41.0.0-beta5 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta6 (including) | 41.0.0-beta6 (including) |
| Electron | Electronjs | 41.0.0-beta7 (including) | 41.0.0-beta7 (including) |
Potential Mitigations
- Assume all input is malicious. Use an “accept known good” input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
- When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, “boat” may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as “red” or “blue.”
- Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code’s environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.