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License Plate VerifierApplication · Axis

CVE-2023-21409

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.8.3 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
Due to insufficient file permissions, unprivileged users could gain access to unencrypted administrator credentials allowing the configuration of the application.

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

This vulnerability stems from overly permissive file permissions on configuration files containing unencrypted administrator credentials. Unprivileged users can read these plaintext credentials, effectively granting them administrative access to configure the application.

MitigationRestrict file permissions on credential storage locations to administrative-only access and implement encrypted credential storage to prevent plaintext exposure.

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
License Plate VerifierApplication
Affected:<= 2.8.3

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
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. Check installed version of Axis License Plate Verifier
    Access the device web interface and navigate to System > About, or use the Axis IP Utility or AXIS Device Manager to retrieve the firmware/software version. Compare this version against the affected range: 2.8.3 and below.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.8.3 or lower.
  2. Locate configuration files storing credentials
    Identify configuration or settings files used by the application to store administrator credentials. These are typically found in the application's configuration directory on the device filesystem.
    Affected if The application stores credentials in configuration files.
  3. Verify file permissions on credential storage files
    Examine the file system permissions on identified credential configuration files. Check if unprivileged users (non-admin accounts) have read access to these files.
    Affected if Non-administrative user accounts can read the credential configuration files.
  4. Inspect credential storage format
    Open the credential configuration files and examine whether the stored credentials are in plaintext (unencrypted) format rather than hashed or encrypted.
    Affected if Administrator credentials are stored in plaintext within the configuration files.

You are affected if you run Axis License Plate Verifier version 2.8.3 or lower AND your configuration files containing credentials are readable by unprivileged users or stored in plaintext format.

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 a release after 2.8.3
Interim mitigation

Restrict file permissions on credential storage locations to administrative-only access and implement encrypted credential storage to prevent plaintext exposure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version of License Plate Verifier (version > 2.8.3)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Axis License Plate Verifier
  2. 2. Access the Axis product download page or contact Axis support to obtain the latest version
  3. 3. Review release notes for security updates addressing credential handling
  4. 4. Backup current configuration following Axis backup procedures
  5. 5. Upgrade to the latest available version of License Plate Verifier
  6. 6. Verify file permissions on configuration directories are correctly set post-upgrade
  7. 7. Test application functionality and confirm administrator credentials are properly secured

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

Fix this in License Plate Verifier Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

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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-2023-21409 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