HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-22561
HIGH

CVE-2026-22561

Published: March 31, 2026· Updated: Apr 6, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.01%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:2.7th

Official Description

Uncontrolled search path elements in Anthropic Claude for Windows installer (Claude Setup.exe) versions prior to 1.1.3363 allow local privilege escalation via DLL search-order hijacking. The installer loads DLLs (e.g., profapi.dll) from its own directory after UAC elevation, enabling arbitrary code execution if a malicious DLL is planted alongside the installer.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-22561 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation does not require any privileges, though user interaction (Required) is needed, which slightly reduces the risk of mass automated attacks.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionRequired
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

anthropic1 product
claude
Microsoft1 product
windows
Source: NVD CPE · 2 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
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Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://trust.anthropic.com/resources?s=1cvig6ldp3zvuj1yffzr11&name=cve-2026-22561-dll-search-order-hijacking-in-claude-for-windows-installer

All References (1)

→
https://trust.anthropic.com/resources?s=1cvig6ldp3zvuj1yffzr11&name=cve-2026-22561-dll-search-order-hijacking-in-claude-for-windows-installerVendor Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-22561
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.01%
Affected2 vendors
PublishedMar 31, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2026-22561 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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