The vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-24414 affects the Icinga PowerShell Framework, a tool used to integrate and monitor Windows environments. In affected versions prior to 1.13.4, 1.12.4, and 1.11.2, the permissions set on the 'certificate' directory within the Icinga for Windows installation are overly permissive, granting read access to all users on the system. This directory contains the private key of the Icinga certificate for the host, which is critical for secure communications and authentication within the monitoring framework. Exposure of this private key can allow an attacker with local access to the system to extract the key, potentially enabling them to impersonate the host or decrypt sensitive monitoring traffic. The vulnerability stems from CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions), indicating a failure to restrict access to sensitive files appropriately. The CVSS 4.0 score of 6.8 reflects a medium severity, with the attack vector being local (AV:L), low complexity (AC:L), no privileges required beyond low-level user (PR:L), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The impact is primarily on confidentiality (VC:H), with no direct impact on integrity or availability. The issue also affects Icinga 2 agents via a similar permissions problem (CVE-2026-24413), which is resolved by upgrading the Icinga for Windows framework. Mitigation involves upgrading to patched versions (1.13.4, 1.12.4, or 1.11.2 and later) or manually restricting ACL permissions on the certificate directories to allow access only to the Icinga service user and administrators. This ensures that private keys are not exposed to unauthorized users on the host system.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and trustworthiness of their monitoring infrastructure. Icinga is widely used for IT infrastructure monitoring, and exposure of private keys could allow attackers with local access to impersonate monitored hosts or intercept sensitive monitoring data. This could lead to undetected manipulation of monitoring results, false alerts, or suppression of alerts, impacting operational security and incident response. In critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, and energy, where monitoring integrity is paramount, exploitation could facilitate lateral movement or persistent footholds within networks. Although exploitation requires local access, insider threats or attackers who have compromised low-privilege accounts could leverage this vulnerability to escalate their capabilities. The vulnerability does not directly affect availability or integrity of the monitored systems but undermines the security of the monitoring framework itself, which is a critical component of overall cybersecurity posture.

European organizations should immediately assess their use of the Icinga PowerShell Framework and Icinga 2 agents on Windows hosts. The primary mitigation is to upgrade to the fixed versions 1.13.4, 1.12.4, or 1.11.2 or later, which address the permission issues. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, administrators must manually restrict the ACL permissions on the following directories: 'C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\modules\icinga-powershell-framework\certificate' and 'C:\ProgramData\icinga2\var' including all subfolders and files. Access should be limited strictly to the Icinga service user and system administrators, removing read permissions from general users. Additionally, organizations should audit local user privileges to minimize unnecessary access, implement strict endpoint security controls to prevent unauthorized local access, and monitor for suspicious access to these directories. Regularly reviewing and hardening file system permissions and applying the principle of least privilege will reduce risk. Finally, organizations should integrate this vulnerability into their patch management and vulnerability scanning processes to ensure timely detection and remediation.