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Insight AgentApplication · Rapid7

CVE-2021-4007

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.2.35 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Rapid7 Insight Agent, versions 3.0.1 to 3.1.2.34, suffer from a local privilege escalation due to an uncontrolled DLL search path. Specifically, when Insight Agent versions 3.0.1 to 3.1.2.34 start, the Python interpreter attempts to load python3.dll at "C:\DLLs\python3.dll," which normally is writable by locally authenticated users. Because of this, a malicious local user could use Insight Agent's startup conditions to elevate to SYSTEM privileges. This issue was fixed in Rapid7 Insight Agent 3.1.2.35. This vulnerability is a regression of CVE-2019-5629.

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 confidence

The Insight Agent loads python3.dll from an uncontrolled path (C:\DLLs\python3.dll) that is writable by authenticated local users. An unprivileged local user can place a malicious DLL at this location, which will be executed with SYSTEM privileges when the Insight Agent service starts.

MitigationUpgrade Rapid7 Insight Agent to version 3.1.2.35 or later. As a compensating control, ensure the C:\DLLs\ directory is not writable by non-privileged users.

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
Insight AgentApplication
Affected:>= 3.0.1, < 3.1.2.35

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Insight Agent installation
    Check if the Rapid7 Insight Agent is installed by looking for the service 'Insight Agent' in services.msc, or check for the presence of the installation directory (typically in Program Files or Program Files (x86)).
    Affected if The Insight Agent service is present on the system.
  2. Determine Insight Agent version
    Open the Insight Agent's log file or configuration, typically found in the installation directory. Look for a version number or check the file properties of the main executable. Compare the version to the affected range: >= 3.0.1 and < 3.1.2.35.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.0.1 or higher but lower than 3.1.2.35.
  3. Verify DLL load path exists
    Check if the directory C:\DLLs exists on the system by using File Explorer or running 'dir C:\DLLs' in command prompt.
    Affected if The C:\DLLs directory exists.
  4. Check C:\DLLs directory permissions
    Right-click the C:\DLLs folder in File Explorer, go to Properties, then the Security tab. Verify which users and groups have Write or Modify permissions on this folder.
    Affected if Authenticated users or non-privileged users have Write or Modify permissions to C:\DLLs.
  5. Confirm python3.dll presence in uncontrolled path
    Check if C:\DLLs\python3.dll exists by running 'dir C:\DLLs\python3.dll' in command prompt.
    Affected if The file C:\DLLs\python3.dll exists.

The system is affected if Insight Agent version is between 3.0.1 and 3.1.2.35 (exclusive) AND the C:\DLLs directory is writable by non-privileged users, allowing them to replace python3.dll with a malicious DLL that would be loaded with SYSTEM privileges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.1.2.35 or later
Fixed in 3.1.2.35
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Rapid7 Insight Agent to version 3.1.2.35 or later. As a compensating control, ensure the C:\DLLs\ directory is not writable by non-privileged users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Rapid7 Insight Agent 3.1.2.35 or later

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Insight Agent version on affected systems
  2. 2. Download Insight Agent version 3.1.2.35 or later from the official Rapid7 download portal
  3. 3. Upgrade the Insight Agent on all affected systems from versions 3.0.1 through 3.1.2.34 to version 3.1.2.35 or later
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the installed version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Insight Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-4007 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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