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.
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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