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Incorrect Permission AssignmentWeakness · CWE-732

CVE-2025-26169

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
86/100
Remediation priority · High
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
IXON VPN Client before 1.4.4 on Windows allows Local Privilege Escalation to SYSTEM because there is code execution from a configuration file that can be controlled by a low-privileged user. There is a race condition in which a temporary configuration file, in a world-writable directory, can be overwritten.

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 IXON VPN Client before version 1.4.4 on Windows contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where a race condition allows a low-privileged user to overwrite a temporary configuration file in a world-writable directory. Since the application executes code from this configuration file with SYSTEM privileges, an attacker can gain elevated access.

MitigationUpgrade IXON VPN Client to version 1.4.4 or later. Additionally, ensure temporary files are created in secure directories with appropriate access controls to prevent unauthorized modification.

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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. Locate IXON VPN Client installation directory
    Inspect the Program Files directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\)\ for a folder named 'IXON' or 'IXON VPN Client'. Alternatively, use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem 'C:\Program Files*' -Directory | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*IXON*'}.
    Affected if The IXON VPN Client directory does not exist (not installed). If the directory exists, the software is present.
  2. Identify installed version from executable or registry
    Check the version of the main executable (often named ixvpn.exe, ixon.exe, or similar) in the installation directory by right-clicking the file, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab. Alternatively, query the Windows Registry: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*IXON*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion.
    Affected if The software is installed but no version is returned, or version information cannot be determined.
  3. Compare version against vulnerable range
    If a version number is obtained from the previous step, compare it to 1.4.4. Versions before 1.4.4 (such as 1.4.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.1, 1.4.0, or earlier) are affected. Version 1.4.4 and later are not vulnerable. Use version comparison: parse the version string and check if the major.minor.patch is less than 1.4.4.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 1.4.4 (for example, 1.4.3, 1.4.0, or any version starting with 1.0.x through 1.3.x).

The environment is affected if IXON VPN Client is installed on Windows and the installed version is below 1.4.4, as the race condition in temporary configuration file handling allows local privilege escalation to SYSTEM.

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 IXON VPN Client to version 1.4.4 or later. Additionally, ensure temporary files are created in secure directories with appropriate access controls to prevent unauthorized modification.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IXON VPN Client version 1.4.4 or later

  1. 1. Verify current IXON VPN Client version by opening the application and checking About/Help section
  2. 2. Download the latest version (1.4.4 or later) from the official IXON support portal at support.ixon.cloud
  3. 3. Close the IXON VPN Client completely before upgrading
  4. 4. Run the installer with administrator privileges
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart the IXON VPN Client after installation completes
  7. 7. Verify the installed version shows 1.4.4 or later

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,560
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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-2025-26169 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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