Nessus Agent: Improper Preservation of Permissions
CVE-2024-3291 is a high-severity improper preservation of permissions vulnerability in Nessus Agent from Tenable, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 10.6.4 as the first without the flaw, so updating Nessus Agent to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Nessus Agent to 10.6.4 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenable | Nessus Agent | before 10.6.4 | 10.6.4 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (tenable.com).
Official description
When installing Nessus Agent to a directory outside of the default location on a Windows host, Nessus Agent versions prior to 10.6.4 did not enforce secure permissions for sub-directories. This could allow for local privilege escalation if users had not secured the directories in the non-default installation location.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Preservation of Permissions
The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restrictive permissions than intended.
More Improper Preservation of Permissions vulnerabilities (CWE-281)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Nessus Agent
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
Recent Improper Preservation of Permissions vulnerabilities
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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