CVE-2021-25270
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA local attacker could execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges in HitmanPro.Alert before version Build 901.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceHitmanPro.Alert before Build 901 contains a vulnerability allowing a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges. This appears to be a local privilege escalation issue where the software fails to properly restrict code execution paths, enabling a local user to elevate from standard user to administrator-level code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 901CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify if HitmanPro.Alert is installedCheck for the presence of the HitmanPro.Alert executable or service. Common paths include Program Files\HitmanPro\HitmanProAlert.exe or look for a service named 'HitmanProAlert' in Windows Services.Affected if The software is found installed on the system
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Determine the installed build versionRight-click the HitmanProAlert.exe file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the Product Version or File Version field. Alternatively, run 'wmic product where "name like 'HitmanPro%Alert'" get version' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if The build number returned is less than 901
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Check the service configuration if applicableOpen Services (services.msc), locate the HitmanProAlert service, check the executable path in the service properties. Also verify if the service runs with elevated privileges by examining the 'Log on as' setting.Affected if The service exists and runs with elevated (System or Administrator) privileges
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Inspect running processesOpen Task Manager or run 'tasklist /svc' and look for HitmanProAlert.exe processes. Note that the vulnerability requires the software to be actively running for privilege escalation to be exploitable.Affected if HitmanProAlert.exe is currently running on the system
The system is affected if HitmanPro.Alert is installed with a build number below 901, as the privilege escalation vulnerability exists in those versions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped901
Upgrade HitmanPro.Alert to Build 901 or later to obtain the security patch that addresses this privilege escalation vulnerability.
HitmanPro.Alert Build 901 or later
- Locate the HitmanPro.Alert installation on the system
- Download the latest version of HitmanPro.Alert from the official Sophos website (www.sophos.com)
- Ensure the downloaded version is Build 901 or later
- Close any running instances of HitmanPro.Alert
- Run the installer to upgrade to the new version
- Verify the installation shows version Build 901 or higher
- Restart the system if prompted to complete the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25270 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-25270 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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