CVE-2024-4454 [High] | Privilege Escalation in Client Security

WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection. User interaction on the part of an administrator is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the WithSecure plugin hosting service. By creating a symbolic link, an attacker can abuse the service to create a file. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-23035.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.09%	0.40%	+0.31%
2	2025-06-30	0.04%	0.09%	+0.06%
3	2025-04-15	—	0.04%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.09%

0.40%

+0.31%

2025-06-30

0.04%

0.09%

+0.06%

2025-04-15

—

0.04%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
7.3	3.0	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.3	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

7.3

3.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.3

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-4454

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
withsecure	client_security	15	cpe:2.3:a:withsecure:client_security:15:::::::*
withsecure	elements_endpoint_protection	17	cpe:2.3:a:withsecure:elements_endpoint_protection:17:::::::*
withsecure	email_and_server_security	15	cpe:2.3:a:withsecure:email_and_server_security:15:::::::*
withsecure	server_security	15	cpe:2.3:a:withsecure:server_security:15:::::::*

References for CVE-2024-4454

URL	Tags
https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-24-491/	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2024-4454 | WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-4454

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-4454

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-4454

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-4454

References for CVE-2024-4454