Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue affects Thales SafeNet Authentication Client for Linux and Windows through 10.7.7. A local attacker could abuse insecure temporary files to overwrite protected files and potentially run code with high privileges. It is not marked as known exploited in CISA KEV in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority local privilege escalation risk where SAC is deployed on shared or sensitive systems. Business urgency depends on installed footprint and local-user exposure.
Technical view
SAC creates temporary hid and lock files insecurely. The CVE description says a local attacker can use a symlink attack to overwrite arbitrary files, with potential high-privilege command execution. No CVSS vector, CWE mapping, vendor patch details, or confirmed exploitation evidence were provided.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Linux or Windows endpoints using Thales SafeNet Authentication Client through version 10.7.7, especially shared systems where untrusted local users or compromised low-privilege accounts exist.
Exploitation context
The attack requires local access. The provided bundle includes a public GitHub reference, but does not establish active exploitation, a weaponized campaign, or KEV listing.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and public reference. The core primitive is insecure temporary file handling enabling symlink-based arbitrary file overwrite. Avoid assuming patch status or exploit prevalence without vendor or threat-intelligence confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory SAC installations and versions on Linux and Windows systems.
- Check Thales vendor guidance for fixed versions or official mitigations.
- Prioritize systems with multiple local users or elevated SAC execution context.
- Reduce unnecessary local account access on affected hosts.
- Monitor for unexpected changes to privileged files.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether SAC version is 10.7.7 or earlier.
- Identify hosts where low-privilege users can log in locally.
- Review file integrity alerts for protected system paths.
- Check endpoint logs for suspicious privileged file modifications.
- Verify whether vendor remediation has been applied.
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.
CVE-2021-42056 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/z00z00z00/Safenet_SAC_CVE-2021-42056CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.