# CVE-2025-34288: Nagios XI Privilege Escalation via Writable PHP Include Executed with Sudo

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to root by modifying a writable PHP file included by a sudo-executed maintenance script in Nagios XI.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 14 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2488-c4gj-6g77

## What is CVE-2025-34288?

CVE-2025-34288 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 16 Dec 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Nagios XI versions prior to 2026R1.1 are vulnerable to local privilege escalation due to an unsafe interaction between sudo permissions and application file permissions. A user‑accessible maintenance script may be executed as root via sudo and includes an application file that is writable by a lower‑privileged user. A local attacker with access to the application account can modify this file to introduce malicious code, which is then executed with elevated privileges when the script is run. Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution as the root user.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-34288?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nagios Nagios Xi.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-34288?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-34288 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-34288 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-34288 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nagios Nagios Xi

- [CVE-2021-25296](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25296/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25297/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25298/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-15949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15949/): Nagios XI Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-24401](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-24401/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-34288 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-34288 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 16 Dec 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-34288 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nagios Nagios Xi. 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-2025-34288/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-34288/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-34288
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-34288
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-34288

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-34288/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.