CVE-2024-52976 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Elastic Agent versions 7.0.0 and 8.0.0. The flaw arises from the inclusion of functionality from an untrusted control sphere within the Elastic Agent subprocess called osqueryd. Specifically, this vulnerability is classified under CWE-829, which involves the inclusion of functionality from an untrusted control sphere. In this context, the vulnerability allows a local attacker who has the ability to modify osqueryd configurations to perform parameter injection, leading to arbitrary code execution within the context of the Elastic Agent subprocess. The attack vector requires local access with high privileges (PR:H), meaning the attacker must already have elevated permissions on the host system. No user interaction is required (UI:N), and the vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or availability but impacts integrity (I:H). The CVSS 3.1 base score is 4.4, indicating a medium severity level. The vulnerability does not have any known exploits in the wild as of the publication date (May 1, 2025). Since the attack requires local access and configuration modification capabilities, it is primarily a concern in environments where multiple users have elevated privileges or where attackers can gain local foothold through other means. The Elastic Agent is widely used for endpoint monitoring, security, and observability, making this vulnerability relevant for organizations relying on Elastic's stack for security telemetry and operational visibility. The lack of a patch link suggests that a fix may be pending or that users should monitor Elastic’s advisories for updates.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-52976 can be significant in environments where Elastic Agent is deployed extensively for endpoint security and monitoring. Successful exploitation allows an attacker with local privileged access to execute arbitrary code, potentially undermining the integrity of security monitoring data and enabling further lateral movement or persistence within the network. This could lead to compromised detection capabilities, delayed incident response, and increased risk of data manipulation or exfiltration. Since Elastic Agent is often deployed in critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and large enterprises, the vulnerability could affect the trustworthiness of security telemetry and operational data. However, the requirement for local privileged access limits the scope to insider threats or attackers who have already breached perimeter defenses. The absence of impact on confidentiality and availability reduces the risk of direct data leaks or service outages but does not diminish the threat to system integrity and security posture. Organizations in sectors with strict compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR) may face regulatory scrutiny if such vulnerabilities are exploited to manipulate security logs or monitoring data.

Restrict local administrative privileges strictly to trusted personnel and minimize the number of users with the ability to modify osqueryd configurations. Implement robust access controls and monitoring on systems running Elastic Agent to detect unauthorized changes to configuration files, especially osqueryd configurations. Use file integrity monitoring solutions to alert on unexpected modifications to Elastic Agent and osqueryd configuration files. Isolate Elastic Agent hosts to reduce the risk of local privilege escalation or lateral movement by attackers who gain initial access. Apply network segmentation to limit access to systems running Elastic Agent subprocesses, reducing the attack surface for local attackers. Monitor Elastic’s official channels for patches or updates addressing CVE-2024-52976 and plan timely deployment once available. Conduct regular audits of user privileges and configuration management policies to ensure compliance with least privilege principles. Consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions that can detect anomalous behavior related to Elastic Agent subprocesses.