How severe is CVE-2016-1281?

CVE-2016-1281 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-1281 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (52nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-1281?

CVE-2016-1281 primarily affects Idrix Truecrypt. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-1281?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-1281 published?

CVE-2016-1281 was published on 2017-01-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-1281

CVE-2016-1281 is a high-severity vulnerability in Idrix Truecrypt with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-426.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 4.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (52nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-426
Affected product: Idrix Truecrypt
Published: 2017-01-23
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installer for TrueCrypt 7.2 and 7.1a, VeraCrypt before 1.17-BETA, and possibly other products allows local users to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges and conduct DLL hijacking attacks via a Trojan horse DLL in the "application directory", as demonstrated with the USP10.dll, RichEd20.dll, NTMarta.dll and SRClient.dll DLLs.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-1281?: Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installer for TrueCrypt 7.2 and 7.1a, VeraCrypt before 1.17-BETA, and possibly other products allows local users to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges and conduct DLL hijacking attacks via a Trojan horse DLL in the "application directory", as demonstrated with the USP10.dll, RichEd20.dll, NTMarta.dll and SRClient.dll DLLs.
How severe is CVE-2016-1281?: CVE-2016-1281 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-1281 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (52nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-1281?: CVE-2016-1281 primarily affects Idrix Truecrypt. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-1281?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-1281 published?: CVE-2016-1281 was published on 2017-01-23 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (3)

cpe:2.3:a:idrix:truecrypt:7.1:a:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:idrix:truecrypt:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:idrix:veracrypt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Idrix Truecrypt

CVE-2019-1010208 — Low (CVSS 3.3): IDRIX, Truecrypt Veracrypt, Truecrypt Prior to 1.23-Hotfix-1 (Veracrypt), all versions (Truecrypt) is affected by:…

All CVEs affecting Idrix Truecrypt →

Other CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-45772 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Turborepo is a high-performance build system for JavaScript and TypeScript codebases. From 1.1.0 to before 2.9.14,…
CVE-2025-26155 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): NCP Secure Enterprise Client 13.18 and NCP Secure Entry Windows Client 13.19 have an Untrusted Search Path…
CVE-2024-53866 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The package manager pnpm prior to version 9.15.0 seems to mishandle overrides and global cache: Overrides from one…
CVE-2024-38462 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): iRODS before 4.3.2 provides an msiSendMail function with a problematic dependency on the mail binary, such as in the…
CVE-2023-30330 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): SoftExpert (SE) Excellence Suite 2.x versions before 2.1.3 is vulnerable to Local File Inclusion in the function…
CVE-2022-24826 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): On Windows, if Git LFS operates on a malicious repository with a `..exe` file as well as a file named `git.exe`, and…

Browse all CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path) vulnerabilities →