CVE-2026-102093 in Kiteworks
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
Kiteworks Core before version 9.5.0 is vulnerable to Improper Privilege Management and does not correctly enforce restrictions on role assignment, which could allow an authenticated administrative user with limited, non-Sysadmin role-management permissions to elevate another user to full system-administrator privileges beyond those the administrative user was authorized to grant.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The vulnerability identified in Kiteworks Core versions prior to 9.5.0 represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms, specifically categorized under Improper Privilege Management. This flaw stems from an insufficient enforcement of role-based restrictions within the application's administrative interface and backend logic. The core issue lies in how the system validates user permissions when attempting to modify or assign roles to other users on the platform. Instead of strictly adhering to a principle of least privilege, the software allows authenticated administrators with limited scope—specifically those who do not hold full Sysadmin privileges—to bypass these constraints and grant elevated access levels that exceed their own authorization boundaries.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability enables an attacker or malicious insider with a restricted administrative account to perform role elevation attacks against other user accounts. By exploiting the flawed logic in the role assignment module, such a user can assign another account full system-administrator privileges. This effectively grants the target account unrestricted access to all features and data within the Kiteworks environment, including sensitive file transfers, configuration settings, and potentially integration points with external systems. The flaw indicates that the application does not adequately verify whether the requesting administrative user has the specific authority required for each type of role modification they are attempting to execute.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for lateral movement and complete system compromise. Once an attacker elevates a victim account or creates a new backdoor account with full administrator rights, they gain the ability to exfiltrate large volumes of sensitive data stored within the platform. Furthermore, full administrative access allows for the modification of security configurations, disabling of audit logs, and potentially installing persistent malware or web shells if the underlying infrastructure permits it. This undermines the integrity, confidentiality, and availability guarantees that organizations rely on when deploying enterprise file transfer solutions like Kiteworks Core.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) ID 269, which defines Improper Privilege Management as a situation where software does not properly restrict permissions for users or processes to only those rights they are granted. It also maps directly to the MITRE ATT&CK framework technique T1078, specifically Valid Accounts and potentially T1078.003 Default Accounts if exploited via pre-existing administrative accounts. The attack vector is classified as local within the application context but remote in terms of network accessibility since it requires authentication first.
To mitigate this risk, organizations running Kiteworks Core versions earlier than 9.5.0 must immediately apply the vendor-provided security patch that addresses these access control flaws. Until the update is applied, administrators should rigorously audit user roles and permissions to ensure no non-Sysadmin users have been granted excessive privileges or role management capabilities. Implementing strict separation of duties within the administrative team can also reduce exposure by ensuring that only a small subset of highly trusted individuals possess the ability to modify system-wide access controls. Regular monitoring of administrative activity logs for unusual privilege escalation attempts is recommended as an additional layer of defense while patching efforts are underway.