CVE-2019-16784
HIGHDescription
In PyInstaller before version 3.6, only on Windows, a local privilege escalation vulnerability is present in this particular case: If a software using PyInstaller in "onefile" mode is launched by a privileged user (at least more than the current one) which have his "TempPath" resolving to a world writable directory. This is the case for example if the software is launched as a service or as a scheduled task using a system account (TempPath will be C:\Windows\Temp). In order to be exploitable the software has to be (re)started after the attacker launch the exploit program, so for a service launched at startup, a service restart is needed (e.g. after a crash or an upgrade).
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Moderate risk: more likely to be exploited than 50% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-250 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-1222 | High | 8.6 | 64% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2025-12420 | Critical | 9.8 | 45% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2024-38813 | High | 7.5 | 17% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2025-34515 | Critical | 9.8 | 7.4% | - | - |
| CVE-2026-29205 | High | 8.6 | 7.2% | - | - |
| CVE-2019-16765 | High | 7.4 | 4.7% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2019-16784?
Upgrade pyinstaller to 3.6 or later.
Is CVE-2019-16784 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2019-16784 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.69% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 50% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2019-16784?
CVE-2019-16784 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.0, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2019-16784 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for pyinstaller (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.