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Nessus AgentApplication · Tenable

CVE-2025-36633

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.8.5 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 Agent versions prior to 10.8.5 on a Windows host, it was found that a non-administrative user could arbitrarily delete local system files with SYSTEM privilege, 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 · moderate confidence

Tenable Agent for Windows versions prior to 10.8.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where a non-administrative local user can delete arbitrary system files with SYSTEM privileges. This is likely due to improper permission handling in the agent's file operations, allowing a low-privilege attacker to manipulate or destroy system files that could lead to privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade Tenable Agent to version 10.8.5 or later. Until then, restrict local non-administrative access to systems running the vulnerable agent version.

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 AgentApplication
Affected:< 10.8.5

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. Confirm Tenable Nessus Agent is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like *Tenable*}' in PowerShell
    Affected if Tenable Nessus Agent appears in the installed programs list
  2. Identify the installed agent version
    In Programs and Features, locate the Tenable Nessus Agent entry and note the version number displayed in the Version column, or run 'nessuscli --version' from the agent installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus Agent')
    Affected if A version number is returned that is lower than 10.8.5
  3. Verify the agent service is running
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate the 'Tenable Nessus Agent' service, or run 'Get-Service -Name *Nessus*' in PowerShell
    Affected if The service exists and is in a Running state, indicating the agent's file operation components are active
  4. Check agent file operation permissions
    Inspect the permissions on the agent installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Tenable\Nessus Agent) and subdirectories using icacls or File Explorer security properties - specifically look for whether non-administrative users have write or delete permissions to agent-managed directories
    Affected if Non-administrative local users have write or delete permissions to directories used by the Tenable Nessus Agent for file operations

Your environment is affected if Tenable Nessus Agent for Windows is installed with a version number lower than 10.8.5 and the agent service is actively running.

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 10.8.5 or later
Fixed in 10.8.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Tenable Agent to version 10.8.5 or later. Until then, restrict local non-administrative access to systems running the vulnerable agent version.

Recommended fix High confidence

10.8.5

  1. Download Nessus Agent version 10.8.5 or later from the official Tenable downloads page
  2. Deploy the updated Nessus Agent installer to the affected Windows hosts
  3. Run the installer with appropriate privileges to upgrade the existing Nessus Agent installation
  4. Restart the Nessus Agent service if required by the upgrade process
  5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Nessus Agent version

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

Fix this in Nessus Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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-2025-36633 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