dbcve.org
Incorrect Default PermissionsWeakness · CWE-276

CVE-2025-24914

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
When installing Nessus to a non-default location on a Windows host, Nessus versions prior to 10.8.4 did not enforce secure permissions for sub-directories. This could allow for local privilege escalation if users had not secured the directories in the non-default installation location. - CVE-2025-24914

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

Nessus versions prior to 10.8.4 on Windows fail to enforce secure permissions on sub-directories when installed to a non-default location. This allows local unprivileged users to potentially modify executables or configuration files, leading to local privilege escalation if the directories are not manually secured by administrators.

MitigationUpgrade to Nessus 10.8.4 or later which enforces secure directory permissions. For unpatched installations, manually restrict permissions on non-default installation directories to prevent write access by non-privileged users.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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 if Nessus is installed on Windows
    Look for Nessus installation directories (commonly in Program Files or Program Files (x86)) or check for the presence of nessus.exe in typical installation paths
    Affected if Nessus is not installed on the Windows system - this CVE only affects Nessus on Windows
  2. Determine the installed Nessus version
    Locate the nessus.exe or version file within the installation directory and read its version information, or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Tenable\Nessus for the InstallVersion value
    Affected if The installed version is 10.8.4 or later - versions prior to 10.8.4 are affected by this vulnerability
  3. Identify the installation location
    Note the full path where the Nessus installation directory resides - check whether it was installed to the default location (typically C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus or C:\Program Files (x86)\Tenable\Nessus) or to a custom directory
    Affected if Nessus is installed to its default location with default permissions - the vulnerability only applies when installed to a non-default (custom) location
  4. Examine sub-directory permissions
    Right-click on sub-directories within the Nessus installation folder, go to Properties > Security, and verify which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Use icacls from an elevated command prompt (e.g., icacls "C:\path\to\Nessus\*" ) to list effective permissions for standard users
    Affected if Non-privileged users (such as Users orAuthenticated Users) have Write or Modify permissions on Nessus sub-directories - this permissive access on a non-default installation indicates vulnerability to local privilege escalation

A system is affected if Nessus for Windows is installed at a version prior to 10.8.4 in a non-default directory location, and non-privileged users have write access to Nessus sub-directories.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Nessus 10.8.4 or later which enforces secure directory permissions. For unpatched installations, manually restrict permissions on non-default installation directories to prevent write access by non-privileged users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nessus 10.8.4

  1. Check current Nessus version by navigating to the Nessus web interface and viewing the About page, or running 'nessusd --version' from the command line
  2. Download Nessus version 10.8.4 or later from the official Tenable downloads page (www.tenable.com/products/nessus)
  3. Back up the existing Nessus installation directory, configuration files, and plugin database before upgrading
  4. Stop the Nessus service: Open Services console, find 'Tenable Nessus', and click Stop
  5. Run the Nessus 10.8.4 installer and follow the prompts to upgrade the installation
  6. Start the Nessus service after installation completes: Open Services console and click Start for 'Tenable Nessus','Log into the Nessus web interface and verify the version displays 10.8.4 or later
  7. Verify that sub-directory permissions are correctly set: Right-click the installation folder, go to Properties > Security, and confirm only appropriate users/groups have access
Caveat Review Tenable release notes for 10.8.x for any configuration or feature changes before upgrading production systems

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2025-24914 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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