# CVE-2026-89325: Privilege escalation in Insight Agent

> Local low-privileged users can execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM by planting an executable in a writable PATH directory due to unqualified command invocation.

- **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:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 26 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6xgf-5p76-74xj

## What is CVE-2026-89325?

CVE-2026-89325 is a high-severity vulnerability in Rapid7 Insight Agent, published on 24 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An uncontrolled search path element in InsightVM assessment content in Rapid7 Insight Agent on Windows allows a local, low-privileged user to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM via a planted executable resolved from the machine PATH.

Assessment content at or below version 0.0.261.0 included a check that invoked the `code` command without a fully qualified path from a process running as SYSTEM. The command was resolved against the machine PATH environment variable at execution time. Where the machine PATH contained a directory writable by non-administrative users and ordered ahead of the legitimate Visual Studio Code installation, a local user could place an executable named `code` in that directory and cause the agent to execute it with SYSTEM privileges.

The version range above refers to InsightVM assessment content versions, not Insight Agent versions. All Insight Agent versions were affected while running assessment content at or below 0.0.261.0. Assessment content is delivered to all Insight Agents via the Rapid7 Insight Platform independently of the Insight Agent version and is not customer-managed.

This issue was resolved in assessment content version 0.0.269.0, which was made generally available on September 15, 2026. Remediation was deployed automatically and no customer action is required.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89325?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-89325?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-89325 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-89325 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89325 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89325 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-89325 is a high-severity vulnerability in Rapid7 Insight Agent, published on 24 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-2026-89325 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Rapid7 Insight Agent. 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-2026-89325/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89325/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89325
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89325
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89325

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89325/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.