dbcve.org
Nessus Network MonitorApplication · Tenable

CVE-2025-24917

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.1 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
In Tenable Network Monitor versions prior to 6.5.1 on a Windows host, it was found that a non-administrative user could stage files in a local directory to run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges, potentially leading to local privilege escalation.

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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Tenable Network Monitor on Windows. A non-administrative user can place malicious files in a local directory that the application accesses, allowing arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM-level privileges. This typically occurs through DLL hijacking or binary planting where the privileged service loads a malicious file staged by a low-privilege user.

MitigationUpgrade Tenable Network Monitor to version 6.5.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
Nessus Network MonitorApplication
Affected:< 6.5.1

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. Verify Tenable Network Monitor is installed
    Check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named Tenable Nessus Network Monitor, or look for the program directory under C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus Network Monitor
    Affected if No entry or directory exists - the software is not installed and this CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed version
    Query the registry value DisplayVersion in the same Uninstall key, or check the version info of the main executable in the installation directory
    Affected if The version is lower than 6.5.1 (for example, 6.5.0, 6.4.x, etc.) - the version falls within the affected range
  3. Identify the service account
    Open Services.msc, find the Tenable Network Monitor service, right-click and select Properties, or run 'sc qc <service_name>' from an elevated command prompt
    Affected if The service runs under the SYSTEM, LocalSystem, or another highly privileged account - this is required for the privilege escalation to have impact
  4. Check the service binary location and permissions
    Use 'sc qc <service_name>' to find the binary path, then use icacls or PowerShell Get-Acl to examine folder permissions on the parent directory
    Affected if A low-privilege user has Write or Modify permissions to the directory from which the service loads files - this would allow the user to place malicious DLLs or binaries for hijacking

The environment is affected if Tenable Network Monitor is installed with a version lower than 6.5.1 and the service runs with elevated privileges while allowing low-privilege users to write to directories from which the service loads executables.

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 6.5.1 or later
Fixed in 6.5.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Tenable Network Monitor to version 6.5.1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nessus Network Monitor 6.5.1

  1. 1. Open the Nessus Network Monitor application interface
  2. 2. Navigate to the 'About' or 'Settings' section to verify the current version
  3. 3. If version is below 6.5.1, access the Tenable downloads portal at www.tenable.com/products/nessus/nessus-plugins
  4. 4. Download the Nessus Network Monitor version 6.5.1 installer for Windows
  5. 5. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. 7. After installation, restart the Nessus Network Monitor service
  8. 8. Verify the installed version is 6.5.1 by checking the About section

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

Fix this in Nessus Network Monitor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-24917 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