# CVE-2026-102118: Kiteworks Core before version 9.5.0 is vulnerable to Local Privilege Escalation

> A local attacker with low-privileged shell access can escalate to root privileges on the Kiteworks Core appliance.

- **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:** 30 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Oct 2026

## What is CVE-2026-102118?

CVE-2026-102118 is a high-severity vulnerability in Accellion Kiteworks, published on 30 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Kiteworks could have allowed an attacker with an existing shell under a low-privileged service account to escalate to root privileges on the appliance.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-102118?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Accellion Kiteworks.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-102118?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-102118 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-102118 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-102118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Accellion Kiteworks

- [CVE-2026-102115](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102115/): Kiteworks Core Authentication Bypass in the Password Reset Workflow (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-102149](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102149/): Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway Improper Access Control (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2026-102147](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102147/): Kiteworks Core Administrative Account Takeover through Stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2026-102095](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102095/): Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway server-side request forgery (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-102102](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102102/): Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway server-side request forgery (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-102118 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-102118 is a high-severity vulnerability in Accellion Kiteworks, published on 30 Sep 2026. 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-2026-102118 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Accellion Kiteworks. 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-2026-102118/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102118/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-102118
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102118
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-102118

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-102118/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.