Unencrypted storage of authentication state in StrongDM Desktop Application state.kv file

StrongDM Desktop Application before 23.74.0 (Desktop Client before 53.77.0) on Microsoft Windows stores authentication state, including a JSON Web Token and asymmetric key material, in cleartext in a per-user state file located at C:\Users\<username>\.sdm\state.kv. The file is protected only by default user-level NTFS permissions. Exploitation requires local read access to the affected user's profile directory and additional deployment and execution conditions on the target host. The condition was reported through coordinated disclosure by Hope Walker (SpecterOps).

Authentication Hijack

The StrongDM Client insufficiently protected a pre-authentication token. Attackers could exploit this to intercept and reuse the token, potentially redeeming valid authentication credentials through a race condition.

The StrongDM Windows service incorrectly handled input validation. Authenticated attackers could potentially exploit this leading to privilege escalation.

Root Certificate Injection

The StrongDM Windows service incorrectly handled communication related to system certificate management. Attackers could exploit this behavior to install untrusted root certificates or remove trusted ones.

Configd Injection

The StrongDM macOS client incorrectly processed JSON-formatted messages. Attackers could potentially modify macOS system configuration by crafting a malicious JSON message.