dbcve.org
Incorrect AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-863

CVE-2025-43917

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
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 Pritunl Client before 1.3.4220.57, an administrator with access to /Applications can escalate privileges after uninstalling the product. Specifically, an administrator can insert a new file at the pathname of the removed pritunl-service file. This file then is executed by a LaunchDaemon as root.

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

In Pritunl Client before version 1.3.4220.57, the uninstaller fails to properly remove or secure the path where the pritunl-service binary previously existed. A local administrator can place a malicious executable at this pathname, which is then executed by a LaunchDaemon running as root, resulting in privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade Pritunl Client to version 1.3.4220.57 or later, which includes proper cleanup of the service file and LaunchDaemon during uninstallation.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Check if Pritunl Client is installed
    Look for the Pritunl Client application in /Applications folder or check for its existence using 'ls /Applications | grep -i pritunl'
    Affected if Pritunl Client is currently installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed version of Pritunl Client
    Check the version by inspecting the app bundle info: 'defaults read /Applications/Pritunl\ Client.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionString' or check the uninstall log if available
    Affected if The version is before 1.3.4220.57
  3. Check if Pritunl Client was previously uninstalled
    Search for residual files from a past uninstallation: look for /Library/Application\ Support/pritunl/pritunl-service or similar paths where the binary may have been left behind
    Affected if The uninstaller was run but residual files or the pritunl-service binary still exist in the system
  4. Inspect for leftover pritunl-service binary
    Check common installation directories for the pritunl-service binary: 'find /Library -name "pritunl-service" 2>/dev/null' or check the original install path
    Affected if The pritunl-service executable file exists in any system directory after uninstallation
  5. Check for residual LaunchDaemon
    Look for leftover LaunchDaemon plist files: 'ls /Library/LaunchDaemons/ | grep -i pritunl' or 'find /Library/LaunchDaemons -name "*pritunl*"'
    Affected if A LaunchDaemon plist related to pritunl-service remains after uninstallation and points to a path that could be writable by an administrator
  6. Verify path permissions on potential leftover locations
    If the uninstaller left the binary or its parent directory, check if standard users can write to that path: 'ls -la /Library/Application\ Support/pritunl/' (or whatever directory contained the binary)
    Affected if The path where the binary previously existed is writable by non-root users

A user is affected if Pritunl Client was uninstalled on their system but the pritunl-service binary or its parent directory persists with insecure permissions, allowing a local administrator to place a malicious executable that will be executed by the remaining LaunchDaemon as root.

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 Pritunl Client to version 1.3.4220.57 or later, which includes proper cleanup of the service file and LaunchDaemon during uninstallation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pritunl Client 1.3.4220.57 or later

  1. Upgrade Pritunl Client to version 1.3.4220.57 or later to obtain the fix for this privilege escalation vulnerability
  2. If already uninstalled, manually verify that the LaunchDaemon configuration for pritunl-service has been removed from /Library/LaunchDaemons/
  3. Check for and remove any remaining pritunl-service files in /Applications/ or related paths if the uninstall was performed

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2025-43917 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
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