Wazuh wazuh-manager: Arbitrary file read as root via agent upgrade command
Summary
Wazuh wazuh-manager from 4.1.0 before 4.14.8 does not check whether an upgrade command comes from the manager's API or from an enrolled agent. An enrolled agent can send an upgrade_custom command with a chosen file path, and the manager, running as root, sends the file contents back to that agent. With passwordless (anonymous) agent enrollment, which is the default, no credentials are needed, so an attacker who can reach the agent enrollment and agent communication ports can read files such as /etc/shadow, agent keys and the API signing key.
Affected
- Wazuh wazuh-manager 4.1.0 up to, but not including, 4.14.8
- Per the vendor, the agent-side part may also affect agents below 4.14.8 (unconfirmed)
Fixed in
- Wazuh wazuh-manager 4.14.8
Workaround
- Unknown. No vendor workaround found.
- Interim measure (not from the vendor): restrict which hosts can reach ports 1514 and 1515, and require enrollment authentication.
Exploitation
- Public proof of concept available (CISA SSVC: exploitation poc, automatable yes)
- No confirmed exploitation in the wild found; not listed in CISA KEV according to a secondary source
Our recommendation
- Upgrade wazuh-manager to 4.14.8 or later.
- Upgrade agents to 4.14.8 as well, as the vendor advisory and secondary sources suggest.
- Restrict access to the enrollment (1515) and agent (1514) ports to required hosts only.
- Require enrollment passwords or certificates instead of anonymous enrollment.
- Review enrolled agents and monitor for unexpected upgrade messages.
- If exposure was possible, rotate the manager's keys, API credentials and agent keys.
Public exploits
Links to third-party sites, not checked by us – exploit code can contain malware. Only use it in isolated test environments.
- Proof of concept on GitHub (1 repositories)
roninreilly/wazuh-unauth-chain
Research sources
- GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-r7hm-43xr-477j github.com
- Wazuh release v4.14.8 github.com
- VulnCheck advisory www.vulncheck.com
- OSV entry CVE-2026-74034 osv.dev
- Vulners NVD record CVE-2026-74034 vulners.com
- Public proof of concept repository (not reviewed) github.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 1 Nov 2026, 04:28.
Original description (NVD)
Wazuh from 4.1.0 before 4.14.8 contains a missing origin check in wm_agent_upgrade that allows enrolled agents to issue upgrade_custom commands with attacker-controlled file_path. Attackers can inject an upgrade_custom message over the agent channel to read arbitrary files as root, exfiltrating /etc/shadow and client.keys.
NVD references (4)
- https://github.com/wazuh/wazuh/releases/tag/v4.14.8
- https://github.com/wazuh/wazuh/security/advisories/GHSA-r7hm-43xr-477j
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/wazuh-4.1.0-before-4.14.8-arbitrary-file-read-via-upgrade-custom-command
- https://github.com/wazuh/wazuh/security/advisories/GHSA-r7hm-43xr-477j
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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