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AutomateApplication · Connectwise

CVE-2026-9089

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2026.5 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
The ConnectWise Automate™ Agent does not fully verify the authenticity of components obtained during plugin loading and self-update operations. This issue is addressed in Automate 2026.5.

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

The ConnectWise Automate Agent fails to properly verify the authenticity of components during plugin loading and self-update operations, allowing potentially malicious code to be loaded into the agent environment. This is a software integrity and supply chain verification vulnerability.

MitigationUpgrade ConnectWise Automate to version 2026.5 or later to address the insufficient verification of update and plugin components.

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
AutomateApplication
Affected:< 2026.5

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 ConnectWise Automate Agent is installed
    Locate the ConnectWise Automate Agent installation directory or check the Windows services list for the Automate Agent service
    Affected if The agent software is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed version
    Check the version of the ConnectWise Automate Agent installed, typically found in the agent's About section, registry, or version file within the installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is below 2026.5
  3. Verify plugin loading is enabled
    Inspect the agent configuration to determine if the plugin/module loading feature is active. This is typically configurable in the agent settings or control panel
    Affected if Plugin loading is enabled and the version is below 2026.5
  4. Check if auto-update is configured
    Review the agent settings to see if self-update or automatic update functionality is turned on. Check update-related configuration files or settings within the agent interface
    Affected if Auto-update is enabled and the version is below 2026.5
  5. Review installed plugins for unexpected components
    Examine the plugins directory or plugin list within the Automate Agent for any unknown, recently added, or suspiciously named plugins that were not explicitly installed by administrators
    Affected if Unexpected or unrecognized plugins exist on the system

The environment is affected if ConnectWise Automate Agent is installed with a version below 2026.5 and has plugin loading or auto-update functionality enabled.

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 2026.5 or later
Fixed in 2026.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ConnectWise Automate to version 2026.5 or later to address the insufficient verification of update and plugin components.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Automate 2026.5

  1. Obtain Automate version 2026.5 or later from the official ConnectWise download portal or your authorized partner
  2. Review the Automate 2026.5 release notes for any prerequisites or specific upgrade instructions
  3. Test the upgrade in a non-production/staging environment before deploying to production
  4. Create a complete backup of the Automate server and database prior to upgrading
  5. Apply the upgrade to production systems during a planned maintenance window
  6. Verify that the Agent can successfully perform plugin loading and self-update operations after the upgrade

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

Fix this in Automate Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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-2026-9089 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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