CVE-2021-28098

HIGH
Published Apr 14, 20215y ago · Modified Jun 17, 20262w ago
7.8 CVSS 3.1
High
Find Similar
Published Apr 14, 2021 5y ago
Last Modified Jun 17, 2026 2w ago

Description

An issue was discovered in Forescout CounterACT before 8.1.4. A local privilege escalation vulnerability is present in the logging function. SecureConnector runs with administrative privileges and writes logs entries to a file in %PROGRAMDATA%\ForeScout SecureConnector\ that has full permissions for the Everyone group. Using a symbolic link allows an attacker to point the log file to a privileged location such as %WINDIR%\System32. The resulting log file adopts the file permissions of the source of the symbolic link (in this case, the Everyone group). The log file in System32 can be replaced and renamed with a malicious DLL for DLL hijacking.

CVSS Details

Base Score
7.8
Exploitability
1.8
Impact
5.9
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
User Interaction Required
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality High
Integrity High
Availability High

Threat Intelligence

No active exploitation signals — not in CISA KEV and no EPSS score yet.

Exploit & Patch Status
Public Exploit Known
No Patch Available

Weaknesses 3

CWE-427
CWE-59
CWE-732

Affected Products 1

VendorProductVersionRange
forescoutcounteract* <8.1.4

References 3

  • docs.forescout.com https://docs.forescout.com
    Vendor Advisory
  • jordanpotti.com https://jordanpotti.com/2021/03/30/forescout-priv-esc-folder-permissions/
    ExploitThird Party Advisory
  • adversis.io https://www.adversis.io/research/2021/3/30/forescout-secure-connector-local-privilege-escalation
    ExploitThird Party Advisory

Remediation

No remediation data recorded yet

Check vendor advisories and the NVD entry for patch availability.