Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-8539

Ivanti Secure Access Client ≤ 22.7

Published
12 November 2024
Modified
17 January 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0022 12th percentile
Risk Priority 51 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-8539 is a high-severity Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions (CWE-267) vulnerability in Ivanti Secure Access Client. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Access Token Manipulation (T1134); ranked at the 12th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-6 (Least Privilege) and AC-5 (Separation of Duties) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper authorization in Ivanti Secure Access Client before version 22.7R3 allows a local authenticated attacker to modify sensitive configuration files.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1134 Access Token Manipulation Stealth
Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1548.001 Setuid and Setgid Privilege Escalation
An adversary may abuse configurations where an application has the setuid or setgid bits set in order to get code running in a different (and possibly more privileged) user’s context.
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
T1078 Valid Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
T1123 Audio Capture Collection
An adversary can leverage a computer's peripheral devices (e.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-7571Same product: Ivanti Secure Access Client
CVE-2025-41244Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-0819Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-9842Same product: Ivanti Secure Access Client
CVE-2023-45244Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-45245Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-44210Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-45247Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-45240Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-41750Same product: Apple Macos

Affected Assets

ivanti
secure access client
22.7 · ≤ 22.7

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 10 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V13.2.2
  • V3.7.3
  • V9.2.2
  • V9.2.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Least privilege directly requires that privileges grant only the minimal actions needed, preventing definition of overly broad privileges that include unintended unsafe operations.

Separation of duties splits high-risk actions across multiple privileges so that no single privilege can perform the full unsafe sequence.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining and enforcing least-privilege permissions directly reduces the chance that a privilege permits unintended unsafe actions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

mitigates

Use of privileged utility programs restricts dangerous tools but does not address unsafe actions within assigned privileges.

mitigates

Access control policy can limit unsafe privilege use but does not define safe actions for each privilege.

degrades

Access rights assignment can restrict privileges to intended actions, yet does not guarantee the privilege itself is safe.

mitigates

Segregation of duties reduces risk of unsafe actions by splitting privileges but does not address unsafe privilege definitions.

mitigates

Privileged access rights control can restrict unsafe privileges, yet does not ensure the privilege definition itself is safe.

mitigates

Secure development lifecycle can catch unsafe privilege definitions during design but does not prevent them at runtime.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271725 OL 9 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-267
Ubuntu 22.04 (3 rules)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-267
  • V-260529 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. prevents CWE-267
  • V-260542 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must prevent direct login into the root account. prevents CWE-267

References