Tenable has released security updates for three high-severity vulnerabilities in Nessus Agent for Windows, which could be exploited to execute file and code operations with elevated privileges.
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The first vulnerability, codenamed CVE-2025-36631 (CVSS score 8.4), allows users with non-administrative accounts to overwrite arbitrary local system files with log file content, gaining System privileges. The second vulnerability, CVE-2025-36632 (CVSS 7.8), allows arbitrary code execution with System privileges by non-administrative users. Finally, CVE-2025-36633 (CVSS 8.8) allows arbitrary local system files to be deleted, also with System privileges, by users without administrative privileges.
Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could lead to elevation of privilege on the affected computer, according to Tenable.
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The three vulnerabilities affect Nessus Agent versions 10.8.4 and earlier and were patched with the release of version 10.8.5 , which is available through Tenable's download portal .
The company does not report any incidents of these vulnerabilities being exploited in real attacks, but recommends that users update their installations as soon as possible.
Tenable Nessus agents are lightweight applications that are installed locally to collect information from systems. They are used to identify security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and other types of information.
In early January, Tenable disabled versions 10.8.0 and 10.8.1 of its Nessus agents after they were found to be failing after a differential plugin update, but not due to a vulnerability. The company said at the time that it was not a security incident and that no customers were negatively impacted.
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Based on the above, it is clear that the security of Nessus Agents is a critical element for the protection of information systems, especially when it comes to tools that operate with elevated rights (System privileges). The vulnerabilities fixed with version 10.8.5 show how important it is to regularly patch software, even in auxiliary tools that may be considered "low risk".
Source: securityweek
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