dbcve.org
NexposeApplication · Rapid7

CVE-2023-1699

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.187 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Rapid7 Nexpose versions 6.6.186 and below suffer from a forced browsing vulnerability.  This vulnerability allows an attacker to manipulate URLs to forcefully browse to and access administrative pages. This vulnerability is fixed in version 6.6.187.  

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 · moderate confidence

Rapid7 Nexpose versions 6.6.186 and below contain a forced browsing vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate URLs to forcefully browse to and access administrative pages that would normally be restricted or hidden.

MitigationUpgrade Rapid7 Nexpose to version 6.6.187 or later to remediate this critical vulnerability.

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
NexposeApplication
Affected:< 6.6.187

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify if Rapid7 Nexpose is installed
    Check for Nexpose installation directories (common paths: C:\Program Files\Rapid7\Nexpose on Windows, /opt/rapid7/nexpose on Linux) or query system package managers
    Affected if Nexpose software is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Nexpose version
    Check the version file or execute: Look for version.info in the Nexpose installation directory, or access the web console login page and inspect the response headers or footer for version information
    Affected if Version is 6.6.186 or lower (any version below 6.6.187)
  3. Verify the Nexpose web console is accessible
    Attempt to access the Nexpose web interface (default ports 3780 or 443) via browser or curl: curl -k https://<host>:3780/login
    Affected if Web console responds and is network-accessible
  4. Test forced browsing to administrative endpoints
    Manually construct and request administrative URLs that would normally require authentication, such as /administrator, /admin, /view/administrators, or other administrative paths, without providing credentials
    Affected if Administrative pages load or return valid responses without authentication (indicating the vulnerability is present)

If Rapid7 Nexpose version 6.6.186 or below is installed and the web console is accessible, the environment is likely affected by this forced browsing vulnerability.

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 6.6.187 or later
Fixed in 6.6.187
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Rapid7 Nexpose to version 6.6.187 or later to remediate this critical vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

6.6.187

  1. 1. Check the current Nexpose version by accessing the Nexpose console or running: nsc -v or checking the administration settings
  2. 2. Back up the Nexpose database and configuration files before upgrading to prevent data loss
  3. 3. Download Nexpose version 6.6.187 from the official Rapid7 download portal at docs.rapid7.com or through your Rapid7 customer account
  4. 4. Stop the Nexpose services using: service nexpose stop (or through the management console)
  5. 5. Run the installer for version 6.6.187 following the standard upgrade procedure documented in the Rapid7 installation guide
  6. 6. Start the Nexpose services after installation completes: service nexpose start
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version in the console or running: nsc -v
  8. 8. Log in to the Nexpose web interface and verify all administrative functions are working correctly

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

Fix this in Nexpose Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-1699 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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