Privilege escalation via junction-following installer cleanup
Published May 4, 2026 · Updated May 4, 2026
Privilege escalation in Gen Digital Norton Secure VPN 6.5.0.59 allows local users to gain elevated access during Microsoft Store installation. The elevated NortonSecureVPN.exe cleanup follows a junction placed in the writable ProgramData settings directory after an attacker-supplied 7z archive fails its hash check, deleting files at the junction target. A low-privilege Windows account must prepare the archive and junction before installation; arbitrary file deletion is demonstrated, while the final escalation chain is not public.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Gen Digital Norton Secure VPN 6.5.0.59 allows local users to gain elevated access during Microsoft Store installation. The elevated NortonSecureVPN.exe cleanup follows a junction placed in the writable ProgramData settings directory after an attacker-supplied 7z archive fails its hash check, deleting files at the junction target. A low-privilege Windows account must prepare the archive and junction before installation; arbitrary file deletion is demonstrated, while the final escalation chain is not public.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-58074
- Published
- May 4, 2026
- Updated
- May 4, 2026
- Vendor
- Gen Digital
- Product
- Norton Secure VPN
- Classifications
- CWE-1386, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 4, 2026Record 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=6.5.0.59
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
- Cisco Talos junction-based arbitrary deletion demonstrationproof of concept · demonstrated
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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