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ConnectApplication · Openvpn

CVE-2024-8474

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
OpenVPN Connect before version 3.5.0 can contain the configuration profile's clear-text private key which is logged in the application log, which an unauthorized actor can use to decrypt the VPN traffic

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

OpenVPN Connect versions prior to 3.5.0 have a vulnerability where the configuration profile's private key is written in clear-text to application logs. Any unauthorized party with access to these logs can obtain the private key and decrypt VPN traffic.

MitigationUpgrade OpenVPN Connect to version 3.5.0 or later. Additionally, review log files for potential exposure and rotate private keys if they may have been compromised.

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
ConnectApplication
Affected:< 3.5.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check OpenVPN Connect version
    Open the application and navigate to Help > About, or check the installed software version through your system's program manager (Windows: Programs and Features, macOS: Applications folder, or use 'openvpnconnect' --version if CLI is available)
    Affected if The installed version is any version prior to 3.5.0 (e.g., 3.4.x, 3.3.x, earlier releases)
  2. Locate application log files
    OpenVPN Connect typically writes logs to user-accessible locations. Check common directories: Windows: %APPDATA%\OpenVPN Connect\logs\ or %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenVPN Connect\logs\, macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/OpenVPN Connect/logs/
    Affected if Log files exist and were created during or after VPN connection attempts with the affected version
  3. Inspect logs for private key content
    Open each log file in the OpenVPN Connect log directory using a text editor or grep/select-string command. Search for patterns indicating private key material: look for '-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----', '-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----', '-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----', or any base64-encoded key block that appears in the log entries
    Affected if Any log file contains clear-text private key headers/markers or PEM-encoded key material
  4. Assess log file accessibility
    Review file permissions on the log directory. Check if the directory is readable by other users, processes, or if logs were written to a shared/network location accessible to unauthorized parties
    Affected if Log files have overly permissive access controls (world-readable, shared folder, or accessible to other users/processes)

You are affected if OpenVPN Connect version is below 3.5.0 AND log files exist that may contain clear-text private key material from configuration profiles.

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 3.5.0 or later
Fixed in 3.5.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenVPN Connect to version 3.5.0 or later. Additionally, review log files for potential exposure and rotate private keys if they may have been compromised.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenVPN Connect 3.5.0

  1. Obtain OpenVPN Connect version 3.5.0 or later from the official OpenVPN website (openvpn.net)
  2. Install the new version of OpenVPN Connect following standard installation procedures
  3. After installation, verify the version is 3.5.0 or higher within the application
  4. As a best practice, consider rotating any private keys that may have been exposed in logs prior to the upgrade

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

Fix this in Connect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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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-2024-8474 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