dbcve.org
Powershell UniversalApplication · Ironmansoftware

CVE-2022-45183

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.12.6 / 3.4.7 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Escalation of privileges in the Web Server in Ironman Software PowerShell Universal 2.x and 3.x allows an attacker with a valid app token to retrieve other app tokens by ID via an HTTP web request. Patched Versions are 3.5.3, 3.4.7, and 2.12.6.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

An authorization flaw in PowerShell Universal's web server allows authenticated users with a valid app token to retrieve OTHER app tokens by querying their ID via HTTP, enabling privilege escalation through unauthorized token access.

MitigationUpgrade PowerShell Universal to version 3.5.3, 3.4.7, or 2.12.6. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the web server and audit token usage logs for suspicious access patterns.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Powershell UniversalApplication
Affected:>= 2.0.0, < 2.12.6>= 3.0.0, < 3.4.7>= 3.5.0, < 3.5.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed PowerShell Universal version
    Run `Get-Module -ListAvailable Universal` in PowerShell to list the installed version, or check the version of the Universal.Server.dll in the installation directory (typically under C:\Program Files\PowerShell Universal or /opt/powershell-universal).
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 2.0.0 and < 2.12.6; >= 3.0.0 and < 3.4.7; >= 3.5.0 and < 3.5.3.
  2. Verify web server network exposure
    Check if the PowerShell Universal host is bound to network interfaces other than localhost. Review the site configuration in the PSU dashboard under Settings > Site, or inspect the appsettings.json configuration file for the 'Urls' or 'BaseUrl' setting.
    Affected if The web server is accessible from network addresses (0.0.0.0 or non-localhost IPs) rather than only localhost (127.0.0.1).
  3. Confirm app token authentication is in use
    Inspect the PowerShell Universal authentication settings in the admin dashboard under Settings > Security, or examine the authentication configuration in the appsettings.json file to determine if token-based authentication is enabled.
    Affected if App token authentication is enabled and app tokens have been created in the environment.
  4. Review token access logs for unauthorized queries
    Examine the PowerShell Universal log files (located in the logs folder under the installation directory) for HTTP requests to API endpoints that query app tokens by ID, particularly GET requests to /api/app/tokens/{id} from users accessing other users token IDs.
    Affected if Logs show authenticated users querying token IDs that do not belong to their own account.

A user is affected if PowerShell Universal is installed at a version within the affected ranges AND the web server is network-accessible AND app token authentication is in use.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.12.6 / 3.4.7 / 3.5.3 or later
Fixed in 2.12.63.4.73.5.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PowerShell Universal to version 3.5.3, 3.4.7, or 2.12.6. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the web server and audit token usage logs for suspicious access patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 2.12.6 (2.x branch), 3.4.7 (3.0-3.4.x branch), or 3.5.3 (3.5.x branch) - choose the appropriate version for your branch

  1. Identify your current PowerShell Universal version by checking the installed version or the Universal Dashboard
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (2.x, 3.0-3.4.x, or 3.5.x)
  3. Back up your PowerShell Universal configuration, including appsettings.json, any custom scripts, and the database if used
  4. Stop the PowerShell Universal service
  5. Upgrade to version 2.12.6 if on 2.x branch, 3.4.7 if on 3.0-3.4.x branch, or 3.5.3 if on 3.5.x branch
  6. Verify the upgrade by checking the new version in the dashboard or via Get-UAServer cmdlet
  7. Restart the PowerShell Universal service
  8. Confirm the vulnerability is fixed by verifying that app tokens can no longer be retrieved by ID without proper authorization
Caveat Not specified in provided material; review release notes for your target version before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Powershell Universal Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-45183 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data