CVE-2026-8795: A YAML injection vulnerability exists in the Windows

Synopsis

A YAML injection vulnerability exists in the Windows.Collectors.Remapping artifact of Rapid7 Velociraptor before version 0.76.6. The vulnerability is locally triggered and requires no prior authentication, but a victim analyst must open a crafted collection ZIP file. Successful exploitation causes arbitrary VQL to execute on the analyst's machine under NullACLManager, granting the attacker full, unsandboxed permissions equivalent to all-access on that host. A patched-image rebuild at version 0.76.6 is available on HarborGuard for affected environments.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityNot required

  The attacker does not need network access to the target; exploitation is triggered locally when the victim opens a crafted collection ZIP file on their own machine.

• AuthenticationNot required

  No account or credentials on the target system are required; the attacker only needs to deliver a malicious ZIP to the analyst.

• Victim interactionRequired

  An analyst must download and apply the crafted collection ZIP, including running Velociraptor with the --remap flag against the injected remapping file, for exploitation to succeed.

• Attack complexityDetail

  The exploit is reliable and condition-free once the malicious ZIP is opened; no race conditions, memory layout knowledge, or special environmental state is required.

Blast Radius

• Arbitrary VQL executes on the analyst's workstation under NullACLManager, which grants all permissions with no sandboxing restrictions.
• An attacker reads files, credentials, and secrets accessible to the analyst's user session on that machine.
• An attacker writes or modifies files on the analyst's machine, including tools, configuration, and stored artifacts.
• The attacker can crash or disrupt local processes, or use the unsandboxed execution context as a foothold for further lateral movement.