CVE-2025-66446
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2025-66446 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in MaxKB AI assistant where improper file permissions allow attackers to overwrite critical system files like the dynamic linker. This could enable attackers to gain elevated privileges on affected systems. Organizations running MaxKB versions 2.3.1 or earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- MaxKB
📦 What is this software?
Maxkb by Maxkb
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with root/administrator privileges, allowing complete control over the server and potential lateral movement to other systems.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation to root/admin, enabling installation of persistent backdoors, data exfiltration, or further attacks on the network.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper file permission hardening and least privilege principles are already implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access to the system. The vulnerability is in file permissions, making exploitation relatively straightforward for attackers with local access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.4.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB/security/advisories/GHSA-5xx2-3q9w-jpgf
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your MaxKB configuration and data. 2. Stop the MaxKB service. 3. Update to version 2.4.0 using your package manager or from GitHub releases. 4. Restart the MaxKB service. 5. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
File Permission Hardening
linuxManually adjust file permissions on critical MaxKB files to prevent unauthorized writes
chmod 644 /path/to/maxkb/critical/files
chown root:root /path/to/maxkb/critical/files
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict local access to MaxKB servers to authorized personnel only
- Implement strict file integrity monitoring on MaxKB installation directories
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check MaxKB version: if version is 2.3.1 or lower, system is vulnerableCheck Version:
maxkb --version or check version in MaxKB web interfaceVerify Fix Applied:
Verify MaxKB version is 2.4.0 or higher and check file permissions on critical system files📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized file modification attempts in system logs
- Permission denied errors for critical files
- Unexpected process execution with elevated privileges
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from MaxKB server
- SSH/RDP connections from unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
source="system_logs" AND (event="permission_denied" OR event="file_modification") AND process="maxkb"