Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows
CVE-2025-20298
In Universal Forwarder for Windows versions below 9.4.2, 9.3.4, 9.2.6, and 9.1.9, a new installation of or an upgrade to an affected version can result in incorrect permissions assignment in the Universal Forwarder for Windows Installation directory (by default, C:\Program Files\SplunkUniversalForwarder). This lets non-administrator users on the machine access the directory and all its contents.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 8.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.003 (20.2th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 20th percentile — 20.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows
- Splunk Splunk/universalforwarder For Windows — versions 9.4, 9.3, 9.2
- Splunk Universal Forwarder
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- advisory.splunk.com/advisories/SVD-2025-0602 (Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-20298?
- CVE-2025-20298 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource. CVSS score: 8.0/10. Published 2025-06-02.
- How severe is CVE-2025-20298?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.0 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-20298 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.