Nagios Log Server versions prior to 2024R2.0.3 contain an execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability as it runs its embedded Logstash process as the root user. If an attacker is able to compromise the Logstash process - for example by exploiting an insecure plugin, pipeline configuration injection, or a vulnerability in input parsing - the attacker could execute code with root privileges, resulting in full system compromise. The Logstash service has been altered to run as the lower-privileged nagios user to reduce this risk associated with a network-facing service that can accept untrusted input or load third-party components.
The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of other weaknesses.