---
id: CVE-2026-106030
title: Missing Authorization in NordVPN for Windows
summary: >-
  NordVPN for Windows allows local attackers to stop unprotected Windows system
  services and change their startup type to Manual via named pipes. The NordVPN
  user-mode application allows a low-privileged attacker to act as a trusted
  proces…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:L/SA:L'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-863
vendor: Nord Security
product: NordVPN
affected:
  - NordVPN < 8.12
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-10-16T10:40:39.065806Z'
published: '2026-10-16'
updated: '2026-10-16'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-16T10:40:51.408Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-106030'
references:
  - url: 'https://cert.pl/en/posts/2026/10/CVE-2026-106030'
  - url: 'https://nordvpn.com/'
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-10-16T10:04:12.091Z'
---

## Overview

NordVPN for Windows allows local attackers to stop unprotected Windows system services and change their startup type to Manual via named pipes. The NordVPN user-mode application allows a low-privileged attacker to act as a trusted process and connect to the named pipe "\\.\pipe\nord-security\v1\NordVpnService\Server". The attacker can then invoke the "ISettingsGrpc.StopService" and "ISettingsGrpc.ChangeServiceStartType" methods with an arbitrary service name, allowing them to stop any unprotected Windows service and change its startup type. This leads to denial of service of critical system services. Services protected by Windows (PPL processes, Windows Tamper Protection), such as Windows Defender, cannot be stopped or reconfigured.


This issue was fixed in version 8.12

## Affected

- `NordVPN < 8.12`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.