CVE-2025-6942 is an authorization bypass vulnerability identified in the distributed engine component of Delinea Secret Server versions 11.7.49 and earlier. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-639, which pertains to authorization bypass through user-controlled keys. Specifically, during the initial authorization event between distributed engines, an attacker with certain privileges can exploit this flaw to impersonate another distributed engine. This impersonation could allow the attacker to bypass intended authorization checks, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive operations or data within the Secret Server environment. The vulnerability requires local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), and high privileges (PR:H), with user interaction (UI:R) necessary to trigger the exploit. The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is rated low (C:L/I:L/A:L), indicating limited potential damage if exploited. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability affects a critical component of a privileged access management (PAM) solution, which is designed to secure and manage sensitive credentials and secrets across enterprise environments. Therefore, even a low-severity flaw in this context warrants attention due to the sensitive nature of the data managed by Secret Server.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability could be significant despite its low CVSS score, primarily because Delinea Secret Server is often used to manage privileged credentials and secrets critical to enterprise security. An attacker able to impersonate a distributed engine could potentially manipulate or intercept sensitive secrets, leading to unauthorized access to critical systems or data. This could result in lateral movement within networks, data leakage, or disruption of security operations. Given the regulatory environment in Europe, including GDPR, any compromise involving sensitive data could lead to compliance violations and financial penalties. Organizations relying heavily on Delinea Secret Server for privileged access management should consider the risk of this vulnerability in the context of their overall security posture and the sensitivity of the data protected by the product.

1. Immediate mitigation should include restricting access to the distributed engine components to only highly trusted administrators and systems, minimizing the attack surface. 2. Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit communication between distributed engines to authorized hosts only. 3. Monitor logs and audit trails for unusual authorization events or impersonation attempts involving distributed engines. 4. Apply the vendor-provided patches or updates as soon as they become available; if no patch is currently available, engage with Delinea support for recommended workarounds or temporary fixes. 5. Enforce multi-factor authentication and strong privilege separation for users with high-level access to the Secret Server environment to reduce the risk of privilege escalation. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on the privileged access management infrastructure to detect potential exploitation attempts early.