# CVE-2026-7373: Metasploit Pro on Windows: Local Privilege Escalation via OpenSSL Configuration File Loading

> A local attacker with a pre-existing vagrant user account can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by planting a malicious OpenSSL configuration file.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 May 2026
- **Updated:** 19 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q6qj-wmmg-cc85

## What is CVE-2026-7373?

CVE-2026-7373 is a high-severity vulnerability in Rapid7 Metasploit Pro, published on 15 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Rapid7 Metasploit Pro is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation attack that allows a user to gain SYSTEM level control of a Windows host. When started the metasploitPostgreSQL service would start the postgres.exe child process which would in turn load an OpenSSL configuration file from a static location. This static location would be writable by a pre-existing "vagrant" user, if they already existed on the system. Metasploit does not create local accounts, an Administrator would need to create it. By planting a crafted openssl.cnf file an attacker can trick the high-privilege service into executing arbitrary commands. This effectively permits the unprivileged vagrant user to bypass security controls and achieve a full host compromise under the agent's SYSTEM level access.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element), CWE-829 (Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-7373?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-7373?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-7373 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-7373 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-7373 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-7373 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-7373 is a high-severity vulnerability in Rapid7 Metasploit Pro, published on 15 May 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-2026-7373 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Rapid7 Metasploit Pro. 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-2026-7373/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-7373/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-7373
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-7373
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-7373

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-7373/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.