Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security before 15.8.211.19229 allows local users to escalate privileges.

published 2022-09-27 4 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2022-44796

cvss: 8.8; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.6%; EPSS 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 50%
public exploits: 0; none known

Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security before 15.8.211.19229 allows local users to escalate privileges. This occurs because of weak permissions for the %PROGRAMDATA%\CheckPoint\ZoneAlarm\Data\Updates directory, and a self-protection driver bypass that allows creation of a junction directory. This can be leveraged to perform an arbitrary file move as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

Patch / fix

fixed in 1

checkpoint zonealarm 15.8.211.19229

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 17 mo ago (2025-05-22)

Exploit prediction

0.62% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 50% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

github.com https://github.com/Wh04m1001/ZoneAlarmEoP referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CISA ADP	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Classification

Weakness

CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management

References

github.com /Wh04m1001/ZoneAlarmEoP
exploit, release-notes, third-party-advisory
zonealarm.com /software/extreme-security/release-history
release-notes, vendor-advisory
infigo.hr /en/insights/39/elevation-of-privilege-in-zonealarm-extreme-security/
third-party-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2022-41604
NVD CVE-2022-41604

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary