{"id":39358,"date":"2025-05-18T07:25:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T07:25:14","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-08-08T12:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T18:01:00","slug":"cve-2025-26169-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-ixon-vpn-client-on-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-26169-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-ixon-vpn-client-on-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-26169: Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in IXON VPN Client on Windows<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE-2025-26169 is a significant vulnerability found in IXON VPN Client versions preceding 1.4.4 on Windows. It allows a low-privileged user to escalate their privileges to SYSTEM level, potentially leading to a system compromise or data leakage. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous due<\/a> to its ease of exploitation and the potentially devastating impacts it could have on affected systems.
\nThe vulnerability is consequential as it allows<\/a> attackers to execute arbitrary code from a configuration file controlled by a low-privileged user. Furthermore, a race condition exists where an overwritable temporary configuration file<\/a> resides in a world-writable directory. Hence, it is a critical issue<\/a> that requires immediate attention and mitigation.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-26169
\nSeverity: High (8.1)
\nAttack Vector: Local
\nPrivileges Required: Low
\nUser Interaction: Required
\nImpact: Potential system compromise<\/a> or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

IXON VPN<\/a> Client | Before 1.4.4 on Windows<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exploit takes advantage of a race condition and the ability to execute arbitrary code<\/a> from a configuration file controlled by a low-privileged user. By overwriting the temporary configuration file in the world-writable directory, an attacker can escalate their privileges<\/a> to SYSTEM level, thereby gaining the highest level of access on a Windows system. Once the attacker has SYSTEM access, they can run commands, manipulate system files, and perform other actions that could compromise the system or lead<\/a> to data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following is a high-level conceptual example of how the vulnerability<\/a> might be exploited. The attacker overwrites the temporary configuration file with malicious code that, when executed, escalates their privileges<\/a> to SYSTEM. The actual payload would depend on the specific objectives of the attacker.<\/p>\n

# Change directory to the world-writable directory\ncd \/path\/to\/world-writable\/directory\n# Overwrite the temporary configuration file with malicious code\necho 'malicious_code' > temp_config_file\n# Execute the VPN client, which reads the config file and executes the malicious code\n.\/ixon_vpn_client<\/code><\/pre>\n
Mitigation<\/strong><\/p>\n
Users are advised to patch their IXON VPN Client immediately to version 1.4.4 or later to mitigate this vulnerability<\/a>. In the event that immediate patching is not possible, users can use a Web<\/a> Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as temporary mitigation. However, these are not long-term solutions and patching should be done as soon as feasible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview CVE-2025-26169 is a significant vulnerability found in IXON VPN Client versions preceding 1.4.4 on Windows. It allows a low-privileged user to escalate their privileges to SYSTEM level, potentially leading to a system compromise or data leakage. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous due to its ease of exploitation and the potentially devastating impacts it could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[82],"product":[],"attack_vector":[76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-39358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-microsoft","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t