# CVE-2025-20298: Incorrect permission assignment on Universal Forwarder for Windows during new installation or upgrade

> Incorrect directory permissions allow non-administrator users to access Splunk Universal Forwarder files, potentially leading to data exposure or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 8.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 2 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4q83-43xw-q63j

## What is CVE-2025-20298?

CVE-2025-20298 is a high-severity vulnerability in Splunk Universal Forwarder, published on 2 Jun 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

In Universal Forwarder for Windows versions below 9.4.2, 9.3.4, 9.2.6, and 9.1.9, a new installation of or an upgrade to an affected version can result in incorrect permissions assignment in the Universal Forwarder for Windows Installation directory (by default, C:\Program Files\SplunkUniversalForwarder). This lets non-administrator users on the machine access the directory and all its contents.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20298?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Splunk Universal Forwarder.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-20298?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20298 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-20298 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20298 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-20298 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-20298 is a high-severity vulnerability in Splunk Universal Forwarder, published on 2 Jun 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20298 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Splunk Universal Forwarder. 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-2025-20298/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20298/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-20298
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-20298
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-20298

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-20298/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.