# CVE-2021-35523: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by modifying OpenVPN configuration files to execute arbitrary scripts in Securepoint SSL VPN Client.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jun 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v8p8-4w8f-qh34

## What is CVE-2021-35523?

CVE-2021-35523 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 28 Jun 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Securepoint SSL VPN Client v2 before 2.0.32 on Windows has unsafe configuration handling that enables local privilege escalation to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. A non-privileged local user can modify the OpenVPN configuration stored under "%APPDATA%\Securepoint SSL VPN" and add a external script file that is executed as privileged user.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-35523?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Securepoint Openvpn-Client.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-35523?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-35523 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-35523 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-35523 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-47101](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47101/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-35523 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-35523 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 28 Jun 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-35523 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-2021-35523/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35523/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-35523
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-35523
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-35523

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35523/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.