CVE-2021-42954Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via weak installation ACLs

Published Nov 17, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Incorrect access control in Zoho Remote Access Plus before 10.1.2121.1 allows local users to alter files and read secrets. ACLs on the installation directory grant Authenticated Users full control over database, configuration, log, batch, and executable files. A local account on a host running the server or agent is sufficient to read plaintext credentials, reset the administrator password, or replace executables for privilege escalation.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.39%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect access control in Zoho Remote Access Plus before 10.1.2121.1 allows local users to alter files and read secrets. ACLs on the installation directory grant Authenticated Users full control over database, configuration, log, batch, and executable files. A local account on a host running the server or agent is sufficient to read plaintext credentials, reset the administrator password, or replace executables for privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-42954
Published
Nov 17, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-732, T1574.010, T1552.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 17, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8MITRECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
T1574.010Services File Permissions Weakness
T1552.001Credentials In Files

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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