Vulnerability in Forescout Counteract
CVE-2021-28098
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.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.004 (32.7th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 33rd percentile — 32.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- docs.forescout.com (Vendor Advisory)
- www.adversis.io/research/2021/3/30/forescout-secure-connector-local-privilege-e… (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
- jordanpotti.com/2021/03/30/forescout-priv-esc-folder-permissions/ (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2021-28098?
- CVE-2021-28098 is a high-severity vulnerability in Forescout Counteract, classified under Improper Link Resolution Before File Access. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-04-14.
- How severe is CVE-2021-28098?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2021-28098 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.