CVE-2025-53841 (CVSS 7.8)

Description

The GC-AGENTS-SERVICE running as part of Akamai´s Guardicore Platform Agent for Windows versions prior to v49.20.1, v50.15.0, v51.12.0, v52.2.0 is affected by a local privilege escalation vulnerability. The service will attempt to read an OpenSSL configuration file from a non-existent location that standard Windows users have default write access to. This allows an unprivileged local user to create a crafted "openssl.cnf" file in that location and, by specifying the path to a custom DLL file in a custom OpenSSL engine definition, execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the Guardicore Agent process. Since Guardicore Agent runs with SYSTEM privileges, this permits an unprivileged user to fully elevate privileges to SYSTEM level in this manner.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-829 CWE-829

References

Other References

https://community.akamai.com/customers/s/article/Windows-Agent-Vulnerability-Summary-and-Resolution https://techdocs.akamai.com/guardicore-platform-agent/changelog https://www.akamai.com/blog/security/advisory-cve-2025-53841-guardicore-local-privilege-escalation https://www.tuv.com/landingpage/en/vulnerability-disclosure/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-53841? +

The GC-AGENTS-SERVICE running as part of Akamai´s Guardicore Platform Agent for Windows versions prior to v49.20.1, v50.15.0, v51.12.0, v52.2.0 is affected by a local privilege escalation vulnerability. The service will attempt to read an OpenSSL configuration file from a non-existent location that standard Windows users have default write access to. This allows an unprivileged local user to create a crafted "openssl.cnf" file in that location and, by specifying the path to a custom DLL file in a custom OpenSSL engine definition, execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the Guardicore Agent process. Since Guardicore Agent runs with SYSTEM privileges, this permits an unprivileged user to fully elevate privileges to SYSTEM level in this manner. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2025-53841? +

CVE-2025-53841 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-53841? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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