Rapid7 Insight Agent vulnerabilities

An uncontrolled search path element in InsightVM assessment content in Rapid7 Insight Agent on Windows allows a local, low-privileged user to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM via a planted executable resolved from the machine PATH. Assessment content at or below version 0.0.261.0 included a check that invoked the `code` command without a fully qualified path from a process running as SYSTEM. The command was resolved against the machine PATH environment variable at execution time. Where the machine PATH contained a directory writable by non-administrative users and ordered ahead of the legitimate Visual Studio Code installation, a local user could place an executable named `code` in that directory and cause the agent to execute it with SYSTEM privileges. The version range above refers to InsightVM assessment content versions, not Insight Agent versions. All Insight Agent versions were affected while running assessment content at or below 0.0.261.0. Assessment content is delivered to all Insight Agents via the Rapid7 Insight Platform independently of the Insight Agent version and is not customer-managed. This issue was resolved in assessment content version 0.0.269.0, which was made generally available on September 15, 2026. Remediation was deployed automatically and no customer action is required.

Rapid7 InsightVM, Nexpose, and the Insight Agent execute discovered executables during authenticated assessment without validating file ownership, allowing a local low-privileged user to run code as the scan credential (Scan Engine) or as root/SYSTEM (Insight Agent). Fixed in Scan Engine content 1.1.3935 and Insight Agent content component 0.0.245.0.

The Rapid7 Insight Agent (versions > 4.1.0.2) is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation attack that allows users to gain SYSTEM level control of a Windows host. Upon startup the agent service attempts to load an OpenSSL configuration file from a non-existent directory that is writable by standard users. By planting a crafted openssl.cnf file an attacker can trick the high-privilege service into executing arbitrary commands. This effectively permits an unprivileged user to bypass security controls and achieve a full host compromise under the agent’s SYSTEM level access.

An eval() injection vulnerability in the Rapid7 Insight Agent beaconing logic for Linux versions could theoretically allow an attacker to achieve remote code execution as root via a crafted beacon response. Because the Agent uses mutual TLS (mTLS) to verify commands from the Rapid7 Platform, it is unlikely that the eval() function could be exploited remotely without prior, highly privileged access to the backend platform.