Overview
CVE-2025-24914 is a critical vulnerability that affects Nessus, a popular vulnerability assessment tool. This vulnerability arises when Nessus is installed to a non-default location on a Windows host, where Nessus versions prior to 10.8.4 did not enforce secure permissions for sub-directories. If users have not secured the directories in the non-default installation location, it could pave the way for local privilege escalation. This flaw is significant as it potentially allows system compromise or data leakage, causing substantial harm to the security of the host system.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-24914
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Local Privilege Escalation, Potential system compromise, and Data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Nessus | Before 10.8.4
How the Exploit Works
The flaw is grounded on insecure permissions set for sub-directories when installing Nessus to a non-default location on a Windows host. An attacker with low privileges and local access can escalate their privileges by manipulating files in these insecurely configured directories. An attacker could modify, add or delete files leading to arbitrary code execution with escalated privileges.
Conceptual Example Code
The following pseudocode provides a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:
# Assume the attacker has local access and low level privileges
# Navigate to the insecure directory
cd C:\Program Files\Non-default Nessus Directory
# Modify or add files, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution
echo "malicious code" > vulnerable_file.dllRecommended Mitigation
Users are advised to apply the vendor patch immediately to mitigate this vulnerability. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, as a temporary mitigation, users can use Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and prevent exploitation attempts. Additionally, manual enforcement of secure directory permissions in the non-default installation location can also serve as a temporary countermeasure.