Unison SoftwareApplication · Intel

CVE-2023-22663

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 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
Improper authentication for some Intel Unison software may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via network access.

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

Intel Unison software contains an improper authentication vulnerability that allows an authenticated user to potentially escalate their privileges via network access. A user with standard authentication may exploit this flaw to gain elevated permissions within the application, bypassing intended access controls.

MitigationApply Intel's published security updates for Unison software and restrict network exposure to trusted users only.

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
Unison SoftwareApplication
Affected:< 20.14.5683.0< 20.14.4244< 20.14.2.3053

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. Identify Intel Unison installation version
    Open Windows Settings > Apps & Features (or Programs and Features), locate Intel Unison and note the version number shown. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, find Intel Unison, and check the Version column.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 20.14.5683.0, 20.14.4244, or 20.14.2.3053 (the installed version matches any of the affected ranges)
  2. Confirm Intel Unison is installed
    Search for Intel Unison in Windows Start menu, or check C:\Program Files\Intel\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\ for the Unison folder. If the software is not installed, this CVE does not apply.
    Affected if Intel Unison software is present on the system and the version check in step 1 shows an affected version
  3. Determine if network/listening services are enabled
    Open Intel Unison application, go to Settings or Preferences, and look for network connection, remote access, or server settings. Check if the application is configured to accept incoming connections or sync over network.
    Affected if Network listening, remote sync, or remote access features are enabled and the version is affected
  4. Identify user accounts configured in Unison
    Open Intel Unison and check the user/account management section to see which local or network user accounts are configured. Note whether standard user accounts exist alongside admin-level accounts.
    Affected if Multiple user accounts with different privilege levels exist in Unison and the version is affected

The environment is affected if Intel Unison software is installed with a version lower than 20.14.5683.0 (or 20.14.4244 or 20.14.2.3053) AND network/remote features are enabled with multiple user accounts present.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 / 20.14.5683.0 or later
Fixed in 20.14.2.305320.14.424420.14.5683.0
Interim mitigation

Apply Intel's published security updates for Unison software and restrict network exposure to trusted users only.

Fix this in Unison Software 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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-22663 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2023-22663 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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