Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue exposed Metasploit Pro’s unique server key with overly broad file permissions during installation. A local user on the same host could read it and potentially intercept private communications to the Metasploit Pro web interface. The business risk is limited but relevant on shared or poorly controlled systems.
Executive priority
Handle during normal vulnerability remediation, with faster action for shared administration hosts or systems with broad local access. This is not internet-remote code execution, but it can undermine trust in management interface confidentiality.
Technical view
CVE-2019-5642 is a CWE-732 permissions flaw in Rapid7 Metasploit Pro 4.16.0-2019081901 and prior. The installer writes the unique server.key to disk as world-readable. The CVSS 3.1 score is 3.3, requiring local access and low privileges, with confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Metasploit Pro was installed on multi-user systems, jump boxes, shared administration hosts, or servers with unnecessary local accounts. Single-user, tightly administered hosts have lower practical exposure.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Abuse requires local access to the host and a readable server.key, then could compromise confidentiality of web interface communications.
Researcher notes
The core issue is excessive permissions on a unique private key file. The source bundle provides affected version bounds and impact, but does not include detailed exploit evidence, exact fixed version semantics beyond the Rapid7 release-note reference, or key rotation instructions.
Mitigation direction
- Review Rapid7 guidance and release notes for the referenced Metasploit Pro update.
- Upgrade affected Metasploit Pro installations if Rapid7 identifies the release as fixed.
- Restrict local account access to systems running Metasploit Pro.
- Remove world-readable access from sensitive key files according to vendor guidance.
- Treat exposed keys as potentially compromised and follow Rapid7 rotation guidance if available.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Metasploit Pro installations and identify versions 4.16.0-2019081901 and prior.
- Check whether server.key exists with world-readable permissions on installed systems.
- Review local user accounts on affected hosts for unnecessary access.
- Confirm the Rapid7-referenced update or later vendor-approved remediation is applied.
- Look for internal evidence that unauthorized local users accessed the key file.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-732: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-5642 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N1.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.3LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://help.rapid7.com/metasploit/release-notes/?rid=4.16.0-2019091001CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.