CVE-2026-12164 is a privilege assignment vulnerability in Fortra File Integrity Monitoring (FIM), formerly known as Tripwire Enterprise. Versions before 9.4.0 may incorrectly assign elevated effective permissions to users created via the tetool import command while the FIM service is running. The issue is particularly pronounced when the import operation also involves creating or changing roles or role-permission relationships. This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment) and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.9, indicating a medium severity level. No official patch or remediation guidance has been provided yet, and there are no known exploits in the wild.

The vulnerability allows users created by the tetool import command to receive elevated or incorrect permissions, potentially leading to unauthorized actions within the FIM environment. While confidentiality is not impacted, the integrity of the system is at risk due to improper privilege escalation. Availability is not affected.

Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, avoid running the tetool import command while FIM is active or limit the use of this command to trusted administrators. Monitor Fortra's advisories for updates on patches or official mitigations.