# CVE-2026-76159: Duplicati for Windows - Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

> A local low-privileged attacker can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting incorrect permissions in the configuration loader of Duplicati for Windows.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8x3r-pmm8-3j9w

## What is CVE-2026-76159?

CVE-2026-76159 is a high-severity vulnerability in Duplicati, published on 15 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource in the  configuration loader of Duplicati for Windows versions before v2.4.0.0 allows a local low-privileged attacker to escalate       privileges to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM via an attacker-controlled preload.json file.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-76159?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-76159?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-76159 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-76159 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76159 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-76159 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-76159 is a high-severity vulnerability in Duplicati, published on 15 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-76159 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Duplicati. 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-2026-76159/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76159/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-76159
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-76159
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-76159

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76159/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.