Local Privilege Escalation via OpenSSL configuration file in Insight Agent

The Rapid7 Insight Agent (versions > 4.1.0.2) is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation attack that allows users to gain SYSTEM level control of a Windows host. Upon startup the agent service attempts to load an OpenSSL configuration file from a non-existent directory that is writable by standard users. By planting a crafted openssl.cnf file an attacker can trick the high-privilege service into executing arbitrary commands. This effectively permits an unprivileged user to bypass security controls and achieve a full host compromise under the agent’s SYSTEM level access.