Nagios has released version 2026R1.1 to address a critical privilege escalation vulnerability affecting earlier versions of its monitoring platform.
The flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-34288, poses a significant risk to enterprise infrastructure by enabling local attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.
Vulnerability Details
The vulnerability stems from an unsafe interaction between sudo permissions and application file permissions in Nagios XI.
A user-accessible maintenance script is executable as root through sudo, but includes an application file that is writable by lower-privileged users. This design flaw creates an attack vector for privilege escalation.
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| CVE ID | CVE-2025-34288 |
| GHSA ID | GHSA-2488-c4gj-6g77 |
| Severity | High |
| CVSS Score | 7.8 (v4.0) |
An attacker with access to the application account can modify the writable file to inject malicious code.
When a privileged user executes the maintenance script via sudo, the malicious code runs with elevated root privileges, resulting in complete system compromise.
The exploitation chain requires local system access but bypasses traditional privilege boundaries.
Once an attacker gains initial application account access, they can weaponize the maintenance script to achieve root-level code execution without requiring elevated privileges at the entry point.
According to Nagios, this vulnerability is classified as CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), highlighting improper security controls in file permission configuration.
The severity rating reflects the critical nature of potential impacts.
Organizations running Nagios XI should immediately upgrade to version 2026R1.1 or later. The patch resolves the permission assignment issues and eliminates the privilege escalation pathway.
Administrators should verify all systems are updated and audit access logs for any suspicious maintenance script activity.
Until patching is completed, administrators should restrict access to the application account and review sudo configurations for the affected maintenance script.
This vulnerability affects monitoring infrastructure across enterprises, potentially exposing systems to unauthorized access and control.
Given Nagios XI’s widespread deployment in critical monitoring environments, prompt patching is essential to prevent exploitation in production systems.
Follow us on Google News, LinkedIn, and X to Get Instant Updates and Set GBH as a Preferred Source in Google.