Privilege escalation in Elastic Defend



Risk Low
Patch available YES
Number of vulnerabilities 1
CVE-ID CVE-2025-37735
CWE-ID CWE-281
Exploitation vector Local
Public exploit N/A
Vulnerable software
 Elastic Defend
Client/Desktop applications / Antivirus software/Personal firewalls

Vendor Elastic Stack

Security Bulletin

This security bulletin contains one low risk vulnerability.

1) Improper Preservation of Permissions

EUVDB-ID: #VU118163

Risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-37735

CWE-ID: CWE-281 - Improper preservation of permissions

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper preservation of permissions in Elastic Defend on Windows hosts. A local user can delete arbitrary files on the system using the Defend service running as SYSTEM and escalate privileges.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Elastic Defend: 8.0.0 - 9.1.5

CPE2.3 External links

https://discuss.elastic.co/t/elastic-defend-8-19-6-9-1-6-and-9-2-0-security-update-esa-2025-23/383272


Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.



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