Malicious directory junction can cause WiX RemoveFoldersEx to possibly delete elevated filesGHSA-jx4p-m4wm-vvjg
HIGHFix: wixtoolset/wix@2e5960bGHSA-jx4p-m4wm-vvjg is a high-severity (CVSS 7.9) CWE-59 vulnerability in wix. A fix is available for wix — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-jx4p-m4wm-vvjg.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
wix.NETwix.NETWixToolset.Util.wixextReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects NuGet packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
WiX toolset lets developers create installers for Windows Installer, the Windows installation engine. The custom action behind WiX's RemoveFolderEx functionality could allow a standard user to delete protected directories. RemoveFolderEx deletes an entire directory tree during installation or uninstallation. It does so by recursing every subdirectory starting at a specified directory and adding each subdirectory to the list of directories Windows Installer should delete. If the setup author instructed RemoveFolderEx to delete a per-user folder from a per-machine installer, an attacker could create a directory junction in that per-user folder pointing to a per-machine, protected directory. Windows Installer, when executing the per-machine installer after approval by an administrator, would delete the target of the directory junction. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.14.1 and 4.0.5.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| .NETNuGet | wix | all versions | 3.14.1dotnet add package wix --version 3.14.1 |
| .NETNuGet | wix | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.5 | 4.0.5dotnet add package wix --version 4.0.5 |
| .NETNuGet | WixToolset.Util.wixext | all versions | 4.0.5dotnet add package WixToolset.Util.wixext --version 4.0.5 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for wix, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update wix to 3.14.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-jx4p-m4wm-vvjg is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-jx4p-m4wm-vvjg in your dependencies?
Find it across NuGet, including transitive dependencies.