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WarpApplication · Cloudflare

CVE-2023-0652

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2023.3.381.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Due to a hardlink created in the ProgramData folder during the repair process of the software, the installer (MSI) of WARP Client for Windows (<= 2022.12.582.0) allowed a malicious attacker to forge the destination of the hardlink and escalate privileges, overwriting SYSTEM protected files. As Cloudflare WARP client for Windows (up to version 2022.5.309.0) allowed creation of mount points from its ProgramData folder, during installation of the WARP client, it was possible to escalate privileges and overwrite SYSTEM protected files.

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

The WARP Client MSI installer creates a hardlink in the ProgramData folder during its repair process. Attackers can manipulate this hardlink to redirect file writes to arbitrary locations, including SYSTEM-protected directories, achieving local privilege escalation and the ability to overwrite protected system files.

MitigationUpgrade WARP Client for Windows to a version newer than 2022.12.582.0, which addresses the hardlink manipulation vulnerability in the installer repair process.

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
WarpApplication
Affected:< 2023.3.381.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Check if Cloudflare WARP is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object Name, Version' in PowerShell, and look for 'Cloudflare WARP' or 'WARP' in the installed programs list
    Affected if Cloudflare WARP appears in the installed programs list
  2. Identify the installed WARP version
    Run 'Get-ItemProperty "C:\Program Files\Cloudflare\Cloudflare WARP\Cloudflare WARP.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object VersionInfo' or check the version in Add/Remove Programs for Cloudflare WARP
    Affected if The displayed version is less than 2023.3.381.0
  3. Verify MSI installer was used
    Check the Windows Installer logs in %TEMP% for MSI repair operations, or examine the original installation method used (MSI vs. EXE installer)
    Affected if The MSI installer was used for installation or repair operations on the system

If Cloudflare WARP is installed with a version below 2023.3.381.0 and the MSI installer was used, the system is vulnerable to hardlink manipulation during repair operations.

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 2023.3.381.0 or later
Fixed in 2023.3.381.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade WARP Client for Windows to a version newer than 2022.12.582.0, which addresses the hardlink manipulation vulnerability in the installer repair process.

Recommended fix High confidence

2023.3.381.0 or later

  1. Check current installed version of Cloudflare WARP client by opening the app and navigating to Settings > About, or by running 'winget list Cloudflare.Warp' in PowerShell
  2. Download the fixed version (2023.3.381.0 or later) from the official Cloudflare download page at install.appcenter.ms or via 'winget upgrade Cloudflare.Warp'
  3. If using MSI installer, ensure to run the installer with appropriate permissions and avoid using repair mode on untrusted systems
  4. After upgrade, verify the installed version is 2023.3.381.0 or higher by checking Settings > About in the WARP client

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

Fix this in Warp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2023-0652 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