# CVE-2021-28098: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to administrative level by exploiting insecure log file permissions and symbolic links to perform DLL hijacking.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-66p4-7q93-93fg

## What is CVE-2021-28098?

CVE-2021-28098 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

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.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-28098?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Forescout Counteract.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-28098?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-28098 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-28098 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28098 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2012-4982](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4982/): Open redirect in n/a (medium 5.8)
- [CVE-2012-4983](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4983/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2012-4985](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4985/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2012-1825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1825/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-28098 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-28098 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28098 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28098/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28098/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-28098
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28098
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-28098

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28098/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.