CVE-2026-35603

Local privilege escalation via untrusted managed settings

Published Apr 17, 2026 · Updated Apr 17, 2026

Insecure configuration loading in Anthropic Claude Code before 2.1.75 on Windows allows local users to elevate privileges via a crafted file. The Windows loader trusted C:\ProgramData\ClaudeCode\managed-settings.json without checking directory ownership or permissions, allowing a non-administrator to pre-create the directory and supply settings loaded for another user. Exploitation requires a shared Windows host, low-privileged local access, and a victim to launch Claude Code after the file is planted.

CVSS severity5.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Insecure configuration loading in Anthropic Claude Code before 2.1.75 on Windows allows local users to elevate privileges via a crafted file. The Windows loader trusted C:\ProgramData\ClaudeCode\managed-settings.json without checking directory ownership or permissions, allowing a non-administrator to pre-create the directory and supply settings loaded for another user. Exploitation requires a shared Windows host, low-privileged local access, and a victim to launch Claude Code after the file is planted.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-35603
Published
Apr 17, 2026
Updated
Apr 17, 2026
Vendor
Anthropic
Product
Claude Code
Classifications
CWE-426, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 17, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.1.75

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Anthropic · Claude Codeversion=< 2.1.75

Published CVSS scores

7.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-426Untrusted Search Path
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

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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