CVE-2021-25271
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 read or write arbitrary files with administrator privileges in HitmanPro before version Build 318.
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 · high confidenceHitmanPro before Build 318 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing an authenticated local attacker to read or write arbitrary files with administrator privileges, likely due to insecure file handling or path traversal in the application.
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< 318CVSS 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
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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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Locate HitmanPro installation directoryCheck common installation paths such as C:\Program Files\HitmanPro, C:\Program Files (x86)\HitmanPro, or search for 'hitmanpro.exe' using File Explorer search or Get-ChildItem -Recurse in PowerShellAffected if HitmanPro executable is found on the system
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Find installed version or build numberRight-click hitmanpro.exe, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view Product Version or File Version. Alternatively, check the uninstall entry in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or via Programs and Features in Control PanelAffected if The build number shown is less than 318, or the version field shows a number below 318
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Confirm vulnerable version is actively usedCheck if the HitmanPro executable in the installation directory matches the version found in step 2 by comparing file properties (size, modified date) or running the application and checking its About/Help sectionAffected if The executable present on disk is a version before Build 318
If HitmanPro is installed and the installed build number is less than 318, the system is vulnerable to CVE-2021-25271.
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 · scoped318
Upgrade HitmanPro to Build 318 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
HitmanPro Build 318 or later
- Navigate to the official Sophos website (www.sophos.com) to download HitmanPro
- Download and install HitmanPro version Build 318 or later
- Verify the installed version matches or exceeds Build 318 to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
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
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25271 — 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-2021-25271 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data