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Bigfix PlatformApplication · Hcltech

CVE-2026-21765

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.0.5 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
HCL BigFix Platform is affected by insecure permissions on private cryptographic keys.  The private cryptographic keys located on a Windows host machine might be subject to overly permissive file system permissions.

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

HCL BigFix Platform stores private cryptographic keys on Windows hosts with overly permissive file system permissions, allowing unprivileged local users to read sensitive private key material. This could enable local privilege escalation or unauthorized decryption of protected communications.

MitigationRestrict file system permissions on private cryptographic keys to only allow access by the BigFix service account and administrators, removing any broad or world-readable access control entries.

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
Bigfix PlatformApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.5

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. Determine installed BigFix Platform version
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\BigFix\EnterpriseServer' to query the version registry key, or check the version displayed in the BigFix Console under Help > About BigFix.
    Affected if The installed version is between 11.0.0 and 11.0.5 inclusive.
  2. Locate BigFix cryptographic key files
    Navigate to the BigFix installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\BigFix Enterprise\BES Server\) and look for subdirectories containing key files such as *.key, *.pem, or files named with 'private', 'key', or 'certificate' in their filenames. Common locations include the \BES Server\Private Keys\ or \BES Server\Security\ directories.
    Affected if Private key files exist in the BigFix installation or data directories.
  3. Inspect file system permissions on key files
    Right-click each identified private key file, select Properties > Security tab, and examine the list of users/groups with Read or Read & Execute permissions. Alternatively, run 'icacls <path_to_key_file>' from an elevated command prompt to view all access control entries.
    Affected if Any user account other than the BigFix service account, SYSTEM, or Administrators group has Allow permissions (especially Read) on the private key files.
  4. Check for world-readable or group-readable access
    Use the command 'icacls <key_file_path> | findstr /i "Everyone Users"' to quickly identify if broad groups like Everyone, Users, or Authenticated Users have access to the key files.
    Affected if The output shows that Everyone, Users, or similar broad groups have any access (Read, Read & Execute) to the private cryptographic key files.

The environment is affected if the BigFix Platform version is 11.0.0 through 11.0.5 and private cryptographic key files grant Read access to non-privileged local user accounts or broad groups.

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 a release after 11.0.5
Interim mitigation

Restrict file system permissions on private cryptographic keys to only allow access by the BigFix service account and administrators, removing any broad or world-readable access control entries.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

BigFix Platform 11.0.6 or later

  1. 1. Verify current BigFix Platform version by checking the installation or using the BigFix Administration Tool
  2. 2. Back up all BigFix databases and configuration data before proceeding with any upgrade
  3. 3. Download the BigFix Platform version 11.0.6 or later from HCL Flexera support portal (support.hcl-software.com)
  4. 4. Stop all BigFix services on the Windows server before upgrading
  5. 5. Run the BigFix Platform installer for version 11.0.6 or later
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen upgrade wizard instructions, preserving existing configuration
  7. 7. After installation, restart BigFix services
  8. 8. Verify that private cryptographic keys in the BigFix data directory now have restricted permissions (only SYSTEM and Administrators should have Full Control)
Caveat Review HCL BigFix release notes for any configuration or feature changes between 11.0.x versions before upgrading

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

Fix this in Bigfix Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2026-21765 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