ClaudeCode <2.1.75 Windows: Unrestricted config file load
CVE-2026-35603 Published on April 17, 2026

Claude Code: Insecure System-Wide Configuration Loading Enables Local Privilege Escalation on Windows
Claude Code is an agentic coding tool. In versions prior to 2.1.75 on Windows, Claude Code loaded the system-wide default configuration from C:\ProgramData\ClaudeCode\managed-settings.json without validating directory ownership or access permissions. Because the ProgramData directory is writable by non-administrative users by default and the ClaudeCode subdirectory was not pre-created or access-restricted, a low-privileged local user could create this directory and place a malicious configuration file that would be automatically loaded for any user launching Claude Code on the same machine. Exploiting this would have required a shared multi-user Windows system and a victim user to launch Claude Code after the malicious configuration was placed. This issue has been fixed on version 2.1.75.

Vendor Advisory NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-35603 can be exploited with local system access. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity and availability.

Attack Vector:
LOCAL
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
LOW
User Interaction:
PASSIVE

Weakness Type

What is an Untrusted Path Vulnerability?

The application searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the application's direct control.

CVE-2026-35603 has been classified to as an Untrusted Path vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-35603

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Anthropic Claude Code
 

Affected Versions

anthropics claude-code Version < 2.1.75 is affected by CVE-2026-35603

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.11%
Percentile
1.38%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.