Remote program execution with user interaction

Vulnerability Description

Element Desktop is a Matrix client for desktop platforms with Element Web at its core. Element Desktop before 1.9.7 is vulnerable to a remote program execution bug with user interaction. The exploit is non-trivial and requires clicking on a malicious link, followed by another button click. To the best of our knowledge, the vulnerability has never been exploited in the wild. If you are using Element Desktop < 1.9.7, we recommend upgrading at your earliest convenience. If successfully exploited, the vulnerability allows an attacker to specify a file path of a binary on the victim's computer which then gets executed. Notably, the attacker does *not* have the ability to specify program arguments. However, in certain unspecified configurations, the attacker may be able to specify an URI instead of a file path which then gets handled using standard platform mechanisms. These may allow exploiting further vulnerabilities in those mechanisms, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

References

• https://github.com/vector-im/element-desktop/security/advisories/GHSA-mjrg-9f8r-h3m7
• https://github.com/vector-im/element-desktop/commit/89b1e39b801655e595337708d4319ba4313feafa