The vulnerability is an improper authentication flaw that allows an attacker with local access to gain higher privileges on the Windows system. By bypassing or manipulating the authentication checks within the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud Agent and Acronis Cyber Protect 17, a non‑privileged user can elevate to system or administrator rights, enabling full control of the affected machine. This flaw is classified as CWE‑1390, which refers to insufficient authentication.

Affected systems are Acronis Cyber Protect 17 for Windows, any build prior to 42587, and the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud Agent for Windows, any build prior to 42569. Both products provide endpoint protection and backup capabilities and are common in enterprise environments. No other platforms or builds are listed as impacted.

The CVSS score of 7.1 marks this as a high‑severity local privilege escalation, and although the EPSS score is not available, the absence of a KEV listing suggests that large‑scale exploitation is not currently documented. The likely attack surface is a local user with the ability to run software; if the user can execute the vulnerable component, privilege escalation can be achieved without additional network or remote interaction. Organizations that rely on the affected builds should deploy the solution immediately to mitigate the risk of unauthorized escalation.