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AgentApplication · Watchguard

CVE-2026-41288

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.25.03.0000 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
Incorrect permission assignment for a resource in the patch management component of the WatchGuard Agent on Windows allows an authenticated local user to elevate their privileges to NT AUTHORITY\\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 · moderate confidence

A local privilege escalation exists in the WatchGuard Agent's patch management component on Windows due to incorrect permission assignment on a resource (likely a file, directory, or registry key). An authenticated local user can modify this resource to execute code at NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM level.

MitigationApply proper restrictive permissions to the affected resource(s) in the patch management component, restricting write access to Administrators only. This typically involves using icacls or Group Policy to correct the ACL.

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
AgentApplication
Affected:< 1.25.03.0000

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. Check if WatchGuard Agent is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object Name,Version' in PowerShell to list installed software
    Affected if WatchGuard Agent appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the installed WatchGuard Agent version
    In Programs and Features, note the Version column for WatchGuard Agent; alternatively, check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\WatchGuard or check file properties of the agent executable (typically in C:\Program Files\WatchGuard or C:\Program Files (x86)\WatchGuard)
    Affected if The version displayed is lower than 1.25.03.0000 (e.g., 1.24.x, 1.23.x, etc.)
  3. Confirm the patch management component is present
    Check for the presence of patch management related files, services, or modules within the WatchGuard Agent installation directory (look for directories named 'Patch', 'PatchManagement', 'Update', or similar)
    Affected if The patch management component exists and is enabled (this is the vulnerable attack surface)
  4. Verify current user context for privilege assessment
    Run 'whoami /all' in Command Prompt to confirm you are an authenticated local user (not already running as SYSTEM or Administrator)
    Affected if You are an authenticated local user with standard user privileges - the vulnerability requires this condition to be exploitable

You are affected if WatchGuard Agent version is installed and is lower than 1.25.03.0000, and the patch management component is present and accessible to an authenticated local user.

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 1.25.03.0000 or later
Fixed in 1.25.03.0000
Interim mitigation

Apply proper restrictive permissions to the affected resource(s) in the patch management component, restricting write access to Administrators only. This typically involves using icacls or Group Policy to correct the ACL.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Agent version 1.25.03.0000 or later

  1. Open the WatchGuard Agent management console or check for updates via the system tray icon
  2. Navigate to the agent settings or patch management configuration
  3. Verify the current Agent version is below 1.25.03.0000
  4. Initiate an update check or import the latest Agent installer from WatchGuard's portal
  5. Apply version 1.25.03.0000 or later to the affected Windows endpoint
  6. Restart the Agent service if prompted
  7. Confirm the new version is installed and the patch management component has the corrected permissions

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

Fix this in Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2026-41288 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