CVE-2025-30201 in Wazuh
Summary
by MITRE • 11/21/2025
Wazuh is a free and open source platform used for threat prevention, detection, and response. Prior to version 4.13.0, a vulnerability in Wazuh Agent allows authenticated attackers to force NTLM authentication through malicious UNC paths in various agent configuration settings, potentially leading NTLM relay attacks that would result privilege escalation and remote code execution. This issue has been patched in version 4.13.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/18/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-30201 affects the Wazuh security platform, a widely deployed open source solution for threat detection and response across enterprise environments. This vulnerability exists within the Wazuh Agent component and represents a significant security flaw that could enable attackers to escalate privileges and achieve remote code execution. The issue stems from insufficient validation of Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths within agent configuration settings, creating an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate authentication flows. Organizations relying on Wazuh for their security operations are particularly at risk since the vulnerability affects the core agent functionality that communicates with central management servers.
The technical flaw manifests when authenticated attackers can inject malicious UNC paths into various agent configuration parameters, specifically targeting the NTLM authentication mechanism. This vulnerability operates by forcing the Wazuh Agent to attempt NTLM authentication against attacker-controlled endpoints, creating conditions where NTLM relay attacks can be executed successfully. The underlying mechanism leverages the fact that Windows systems will automatically attempt to authenticate against UNC paths when they are referenced in configuration settings, without proper validation of the legitimacy of these paths. This behavior aligns with common attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under credential access and privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, and CWE-310, which addresses cryptographic issues in authentication mechanisms. The flaw essentially creates a trust relationship that can be exploited to relay authentication credentials between systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential full system compromise within affected environments. When an attacker successfully executes an NTLM relay attack through the Wazuh Agent, they can gain elevated privileges on the target system and potentially move laterally throughout the network. The attack chain typically begins with an authenticated attacker who can modify agent configuration files or settings, then forces the agent to connect to malicious UNC endpoints. This scenario represents a serious concern for organizations that depend on Wazuh for security monitoring, as the agent's elevated privileges could be leveraged to bypass security controls and access sensitive data. The vulnerability affects systems where Wazuh Agents are configured to access network resources through UNC paths without proper validation, particularly in enterprise environments where network shares and file servers are common components of infrastructure.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability, with the most effective approach being the upgrade to Wazuh version 4.13.0 or later, which contains the necessary patches. Additional protective measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to Wazuh agent configuration endpoints, deploying monitoring solutions to detect suspicious UNC path usage, and ensuring that Wazuh agents operate with minimal required privileges. Security teams should also review existing agent configurations to identify and remediate any instances where UNC paths are used without proper validation or sanitization. The mitigation approach should align with defensive techniques outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly focusing on credential access prevention and network boundary protection. Organizations should also consider implementing network-level controls to block or monitor NTLM authentication attempts that could be used in relay attacks, as this vulnerability specifically exploits weaknesses in authentication protocols that are fundamental to Windows network operations.