CVE-2026-45207: Apex One/SEP Agent Privilege Escalation

The National Vulnerability Database has detailed CVE-2026-45207, an origin validation flaw in the Apex One/SEP agent. This vulnerability, similar to CVE-2026-45206, enables a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected systems. The critical distinction lies in its exploitation of a different process protection communication mechanism, underscoring persistent weaknesses in inter-process communication.

Rated with a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH), exploitation requires an attacker to first achieve low-privileged code execution on the target system. This means it’s not a remote exploit but a post-compromise mechanism, making it a dangerous component of an attacker’s lateral movement toolkit. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error), a common class of issues where trust boundaries are improperly enforced.

For defenders, this highlights the importance of defense-in-depth. While initial access is required, this CVE provides a clear path to elevated privileges once a foothold is established. CISOs should be thinking about the cumulative risk of such vulnerabilities. Each privilege escalation flaw, even if local, reduces the attacker’s friction significantly post-initial access. This is how minor breaches turn into full-blown compromises.