What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-32204?

CVE-2026-32204 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.1%.

Which versions of Azure Monitor Agent are affected by CVE-2026-32204?

CVE-2026-32204 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Azure Monitor Agent that allows any user with basic local system access to gain SYSTEM/root-level control through path traversal…. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-32204?

Within 24 hours: inventory all systems running Azure Monitor Agent and confirm current installed versions across your environment. Within 7 days: deploy the vendor-released patch to all Azure Monitor Agent installations; prioritize servers handling sensitive workloads or multi-tenant environments. Within 30 days: verify patch deployment completion through automated compliance scanning and validate that systems are running the patched agent version.

Azure Monitor Agent CVE-2026-32204

EUVD-2026-29574 HIGH

External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73)

2026-05-12 microsoft

GHSA-8pm6-3cpv-xjv2

Microsoft Information Disclosure Azure Monitor

7.8

CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: microsoft

Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY

7.8 HIGH

AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

ENISA EUVD

HIGH

qualitative

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Generated

May 12, 2026 - 18:30 vuln.today

CVE Published

May 12, 2026 - 16:58 nvd

HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

External control of file name or path in Azure Monitor Agent allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

AnalysisAI

Path traversal in Azure Monitor Agent enables low-privileged local attackers to escalate to SYSTEM/root privileges via malicious file path manipulation. Microsoft has released security patches. Attack vector is local (AV:L) with low complexity (AC:L), requiring only basic local credentials (PR:L) but no user interaction. EPSS exploitation probability is 0.04% (4th percentile), indicating low likelihood of mass exploitation, though the attack is straightforward once local access is obtained.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is a classic external control of file name or path issue (CWE-73), also known as path traversal. The Azure Monitor Agent - Microsoft's telemetry and monitoring service that runs with elevated privileges on Windows and Linux hosts - fails to properly validate file paths provided by low-privileged users. By injecting directory traversal sequences (e.g., '../../../' or absolute paths) into file operations, attackers can force the agent to read from or write to arbitrary filesystem locations outside intended directories. Because the agent runs as SYSTEM (Windows) or root (Linux), successful exploitation allows privilege escalation from a standard user account to full administrative control. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:azure_monitor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* indicates all versions of the agent were potentially vulnerable prior to patching, though specific affected version ranges are not independently confirmed in available data.

RemediationAI

Apply the security update released by Microsoft via the March 2026 patch cycle. For Azure VM extensions, updates typically deploy automatically within 24-48 hours if auto-update is enabled; verify agent version post-deployment using 'Get-AzVMExtension' (PowerShell) or Azure Portal. For Arc-enabled servers and standalone installations, manually upgrade the agent to the patched version specified in the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-32204. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement defense-in-depth controls: restrict local logon rights to trusted administrators only via Group Policy or PAM solutions (reduces PR:L attack surface); enable application control policies (AppLocker/WDAC on Windows, AppArmor/SELinux on Linux) to prevent unauthorized processes from interacting with agent directories; audit file system access to Azure Monitor Agent installation paths (typically C:\Packages\Plugins\Microsoft.Azure.Monitor.AzureMonitorWindowsAgent on Windows, /var/lib/waagent on Linux) to detect traversal attempts. Note that restricting agent permissions may break legitimate monitoring functionality and should be tested in non-production environments first.