CVE-2024-3291

Local privilege escalation via insecure subdirectory permissions

Published May 17, 2024 · Updated Aug 1, 2024

Improper permission preservation in Tenable Nessus Agent 10.6.3 and earlier allows local users to gain elevated privileges on Windows. A non-default Windows installation fails to enforce secure permissions on its subdirectories, leaving the custom directory tree insufficiently protected. Exploitation requires local access, an installation outside the default location, and directories that administrators have not independently secured.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper permission preservation in Tenable Nessus Agent 10.6.3 and earlier allows local users to gain elevated privileges on Windows. A non-default Windows installation fails to enforce secure permissions on its subdirectories, leaving the custom directory tree insufficiently protected. Exploitation requires local access, an installation outside the default location, and directories that administrators have not independently secured.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-3291
Published
May 17, 2024
Updated
Aug 1, 2024
Vendor
Tenable
Product
Nessus Agent
Classifications
CWE-281, T1574.010
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 17, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 1, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <10.6.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Tenable · Nessus Agentversion=0 <10.6.4

Published CVSS scores

7.0Tenable Network Security, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
7.8Tenable Network Security, Inc.CVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-281Improper Preservation of Permissions
T1574.010Services File Permissions Weakness

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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