CVE-2026-2914
Product: CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager (EPM) Agent
Affected Versions: 25.10.0 and earlier
Severity: High
CVSS v3.1: 7.8 (High)
CVSS v4.0: 8.5 (High)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Exploit Complexity: Low
Exploit Availability: No confirmed public weaponized exploit at time of writing; however, the vulnerability is technically straightforward and realistically exploitable by a local attacker
Weakness Category: Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
Patch Status: Fixed in versions later than 25.10.0
Official Patch / Upgrade Link:
https://www.cyberark.com/product-security/
Executive Summary
A privilege escalation vulnerability was identified in CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager (EPM) Agent versions 25.10.0 and below. The issue affects the mechanism responsible for handling elevation dialogs. Under certain conditions, improper validation and enforcement of privilege boundaries may allow a locally authenticated low-privileged user to obtain elevated privileges.
The vulnerability does not require remote access. An attacker must already have code execution as a standard user on the system. However, once that foothold exists, elevation to administrative or SYSTEM-level access may be achievable.
Because EPM is designed specifically to control and secure elevation workflows, exploitation effectively undermines a core security control on affected systems.
Technical Details
The issue resides in the agent’s privilege elevation workflow, specifically in how elevation dialogs are processed and enforced. EPM operates by intercepting execution attempts requiring elevated rights and then applying policies to determine whether elevation should be granted.
In affected versions:
- Elevation requests may not be sufficiently validated.
- Certain internal trust assumptions between user-mode components and privileged components may be abused.
- Security context enforcement may fail under crafted conditions.
If the elevation handling component improperly trusts caller input or fails to securely validate request context, an attacker may:
- Trigger an elevation dialog programmatically.
- Manipulate execution flow or parameters.
- Cause a privileged component to spawn a process under elevated context.
The weakness aligns with improper privilege management (CWE-269), where access controls exist but are not correctly enforced under specific conditions.
Attack Scenario
A realistic exploitation chain may look like this:
- Initial foothold is obtained (phishing, malicious document, browser exploit, stolen credentials).
- Attacker gains execution as a standard domain or local user.
- A crafted process invocation triggers the EPM elevation mechanism.
- Due to flawed validation logic, the agent incorrectly grants elevation.
- A process executes with administrative or SYSTEM privileges.
- Persistence mechanisms, credential dumping, or lateral movement techniques are deployed.
No administrative credentials are required for exploitation.
Educational Proof-of-Concept Concept (High-Level)
No confirmed public PoC is widely distributed at this time. However, for educational understanding, exploitation would conceptually involve:
- Identifying the EPM agent service process.
- Observing how elevation dialogs are invoked.
- Triggering controlled execution of a test binary.
- Attempting parameter manipulation or process spoofing.
- Monitoring token privileges of spawned processes.
A simplified lab scenario for defenders:
- Create a standard user account.
- Attempt to execute an admin-restricted binary.
- Observe EPM behavior and logs.
- Inspect whether unexpected elevated tokens are assigned.
This explanation is for defensive research only. No exploit code is provided.
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
- T1068 – Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
- T1548 – Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
- T1134 – Access Token Manipulation
Impact Assessment
If exploited successfully, an attacker may:
- Gain full administrative privileges.
- Install persistent services.
- Modify registry keys under HKLM.
- Dump LSASS memory.
- Disable endpoint protection.
- Add accounts to local Administrators group.
- Deploy ransomware.
- Pivot laterally using stolen credentials.
Because EPM often exists on high-value enterprise endpoints, risk exposure is significant.
Detection Strategy
Detection should focus on anomalous elevation behavior and unexpected privilege transitions.
Recommended Log Sources
- Windows Security Event Log
- Sysmon
- EPM Agent Logs
- EDR Telemetry
- Service Control Manager Logs
- Process Creation Logs
Detection Queries
Splunk Query – Suspicious Elevation Spawn
index=wineventlog EventCode=4688
| where NewProcessName IN ("C:\\Windows\\System32\\cmd.exe",
"C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0\\powershell.exe")
| where ParentProcessName LIKE "%epm%" OR ParentProcessName LIKE "%CyberArk%"
| table _time AccountName NewProcessName ParentProcessName CommandLine
Splunk Query – Privilege Assignment After Elevation
index=wineventlog EventCode=4672
| stats count by AccountName, PrivilegeList
| where AccountName!="SYSTEM"
Microsoft Sentinel (KQL) – Elevated Token Abuse
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4688
| where NewProcessName has_any ("powershell.exe","cmd.exe")
| where ParentProcessName contains "epm"
| project TimeGenerated, Account, NewProcessName, ParentProcessName, CommandLine
Elastic EQL – Privilege Escalation Chain
process where process.parent.name : ("*epm*","*CyberArk*")
and process.name : ("cmd.exe","powershell.exe","rundll32.exe")
Behavioral Indicators
- Non-admin user launching elevated PowerShell without approval record.
- SYSTEM process spawned from user-controlled binary.
- Local admin group membership changes shortly after EPM event.
- New service installed within minutes of elevation.
- Registry modification under HKLM by non-admin session.
Hunting Playbook
- Identify endpoints running EPM Agent ≤ 25.10.0.
- Review process creation logs for 30–90 days.
- Correlate elevation events with user accounts.
- Check for unexpected local admin additions.
- Investigate systems where EPM logs show elevation success without ticketing/approval trace.
Containment and Remediation
If exploitation is suspected:
- Isolate affected endpoint.
- Dump volatile memory for forensic analysis.
- Collect EPM logs.
- Review account activity.
- Reset credentials used on system.
- Reimage if full compromise confirmed.
Permanent fix requires upgrading to patched version.
Mitigation
Until upgrade is completed:
- Restrict who can request elevation.
- Require multi-factor approval for high-risk binaries.
- Disable unnecessary elevation policies.
- Increase audit logging verbosity.
- Monitor EPM agent process interactions.
Patch and Upgrade
All organizations running CyberArk EPM Agent 25.10.0 or earlier should upgrade immediately to the fixed version provided by CyberArk.
Official Security Advisory & Patch Information:
https://www.cyberark.com/product-security/
Risk Rating Summary
This vulnerability is classified as high severity because:
- Exploitation requires only local access.
- No user interaction required.
- Attack complexity is low.
- Elevation leads to full system compromise.
- Security control bypass is involved.
