SYSTEM escalation via writable OpenSSL configuration
Published Dec 3, 2025 · Updated Dec 10, 2025
Local privilege escalation in Akamai Guardicore Platform Agent for Windows allows local users to execute commands as SYSTEM. GC-AGENTS-SERVICE reads an OpenSSL configuration from a nonexistent path writable by standard users, allowing a crafted openssl.cnf engine definition to load an attacker-selected DLL. The affected builds are versions before 49.20.1 on branch 49, before 50.15.0 on branch 50, before 51.12.0 on branch 51, and before 52.2.0 on branch 52; local access is required.
Summary
What happened
Local privilege escalation in Akamai Guardicore Platform Agent for Windows allows local users to execute commands as SYSTEM. GC-AGENTS-SERVICE reads an OpenSSL configuration from a nonexistent path writable by standard users, allowing a crafted openssl.cnf engine definition to load an attacker-selected DLL. The affected builds are versions before 49.20.1 on branch 49, before 50.15.0 on branch 50, before 51.12.0 on branch 51, and before 52.2.0 on branch 52; local access is required.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-53841
- Published
- Dec 3, 2025
- Updated
- Dec 10, 2025
- Vendor
- Akamai
- Product
- Guardicore Platform Agent
- Classifications
- CWE-829, T1574.002
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 3, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Dec 10, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=0 <50.15.0
- Affected versionversion=51 <51.12.0
- Affected versionversion=52 <52.1.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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