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K7 Ultimate SecurityApplication · K7computing

CVE-2025-67826

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
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
An issue was discovered in K7 Ultimate Security 17.0.2045. A Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerability in the K7 Ultimate Security antivirus can be exploited by a local unprivileged user on default installations of the product. Insecure access to a named pipe allows unprivileged users to edit any registry key, leading to a full compromise as SYSTEM.

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

K7 Ultimate Security 17.0.2045 contains a Local Privilege Escalation vulnerability where an insecurely configured named pipe allows unprivileged local users to manipulate registry keys with SYSTEM privileges, leading to complete system compromise.

MitigationApply vendor patch when available; in the interim, restrict local user access to the affected service and monitor for unauthorized registry modifications.

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
K7 Ultimate SecurityApplication
Affected:= 17.0.2045

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 K7 Ultimate Security installation and version
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check C:\Program Files\K7 Computing\ for the K7 Ultimate Security folder. Locate the main executable (likely K7TSMenu.exe or similar) and check its file properties for version, or run 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed K7 products.
    Affected if K7 Ultimate Security version 17.0.2045 is installed
  2. Identify the vulnerable named pipe
    Use Process Explorer or Process Hacker to locate the K7 service process (likely K7TSService or K7Sentry). With the service running, open an elevated command prompt and run 'tasklist /svc' to find the service name, then use 'sc qc <servicename>' to get details. Check for named pipes using Handle utility (from Sysinternals) against the K7 process: 'handle -p <k7process.exe> -a pipe'
    Affected if A named pipe exists with overly permissive ACLs allowing non-admin users write access
  3. Verify named pipe permissions
    Use the Sysinternals 'sd' utility or PowerShell 'Get-Acl' against the named pipe object. Run 'get-childitem \\.\pipe\K7*' to list K7 pipes, then check ACL: '($pipe = Get-Item \\.\pipe\K7TSPipe).GetAccessControl()' to view permissions.
    Affected if Non-privileged users (Everyone, Users, or specific unprivileged groups) have Write or Create privileges on the named pipe
  4. Audit registry keys for unauthorized modifications
    Enable Windows auditing for registry: run 'auditpol /set /subcategory:Registry /success:enable'. Then monitor HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services for changes, particularly to service binary paths and start types. Use 'reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\K7' to review K7 service entries.
    Affected if Registry modifications occur in HKLM\SYSTEM\Services that were not initiated by an administrator or the K7 update process
  5. Check for suspicious service creation
    Run 'sc query' or 'Get-Service' to list all services. Compare against known-good baseline. Look for new services with SYSTEM privileges, especially those pointing to user-writable paths. Use 'wmic service get name,state,pathname' to export current service configuration.
    Affected if New services with SYSTEM privileges appear, or existing K7 service configurations change unexpectedly

A user is affected if K7 Ultimate Security version 17.0.2045 is installed and the named pipe it creates permits unprivileged users to manipulate registry keys or create elevated services.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch when available; in the interim, restrict local user access to the affected service and monitor for unauthorized registry modifications.

Fix this in K7 Ultimate Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2025-67826 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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