ServerEye Agent <20.15 LP Escalation via SE3Recovery
CVE-2026-14551 Published on July 22, 2026
Local Privilege Escalation in servereye client (sensorhub)
The servereye client (also known as sensorhub, technically ClientAgentContainerService) versions 20.15 and earlier are vulnerable to Local Privilege Escalation. The high-privileged service SE3Recovery (EmergencyRecoveryService.exe), running as SYSTEM, periodically monitors the directory %ProgramData%\ServerEye3\update\ for a trigger file named "update_available". Due to insufficient access restrictions on this directory, a local standard user can create the trigger file and provide a path to a directory containing malicious JSON instructions. The service subsequently executes the utility UpdaterAction.exe with SYSTEM privileges, which parses the instructions and performs an unvalidated file copy from a user-controlled source to a protected system destination (e.g., overwriting a service binary). This leads to full system compromise as the service automatically restarts the overwritten binary with SYSTEM privileges.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-14551 can be exploited with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Types
Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions
The software creates a temporary file in a directory whose permissions allow unintended actors to determine the file's existence or otherwise access that file. On some operating systems, the fact that the temporary file exists may be apparent to any user with sufficient privileges to access that directory. Since the file is visible, the application that is using the temporary file could be known. If one has access to list the processes on the system, the attacker has gained information about what the user is doing at that time. By correlating this with the applications the user is running, an attacker could potentially discover what a user's actions are. From this, higher levels of security could be breached.
Improper Privilege Management
The software does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
External Control of File Name or Path
The software allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.
Affected Versions
servereye GmbH servereye Windows Agent (Sensorhub):- Before and including 20.15 is affected.
- Version 20.16 is unaffected.