CVE-2025-6723
📋 TL;DR
Chef InSpec versions up to 5.23 create Windows named pipes with overly permissive access controls, allowing local attackers to hijack pipe connections. This could enable privilege escalation or disruption of InSpec operations. Only affects Windows systems running vulnerable InSpec versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Chef InSpec
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local attacker gains elevated privileges equal to InSpec's execution context, potentially achieving full system compromise.
Likely Case
Local attacker disrupts InSpec operations or gains limited privilege escalation within the InSpec context.
If Mitigated
Attack fails due to proper access controls or attacker lacks local access to vulnerable system.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local access and knowledge of named pipe manipulation on Windows.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 5.24 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://docs.chef.io/inspec/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Chef InSpec to version 5.24 or later. 2. Run 'inspec --version' to confirm update. 3. No system restart required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict local user access
windowsLimit local user accounts on Windows systems running InSpec to reduce attack surface.
Monitor named pipe creation
windowsImplement monitoring for suspicious named pipe creation or access attempts.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict local user access to Windows systems running vulnerable InSpec versions.
- Implement strict access controls and monitoring for named pipe operations.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Run 'inspec --version' and check if version is 5.23 or earlier on Windows systems.Check Version:
inspec --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Run 'inspec --version' and confirm version is 5.24 or later.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual named pipe creation events in Windows Event Logs
- Failed or suspicious InSpec execution attempts
Network Indicators:
- Local inter-process communication anomalies
SIEM Query:
EventID=17 OR EventID=18 (Pipe creation/connection) AND ProcessName contains 'inspec'