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NetskopeApplication

CVE-2023-2270

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 100 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
The Netskope client service running with NT\SYSTEM privileges accepts network connections from localhost to start various services and execute commands. The connection handling function of Netskope client before R100 in this service utilized a relative path to download and unzip configuration files on the machine. This relative path provided a way for local users to write arbitrary files at a location which is accessible to only higher privileged users. This can be exploited by local users to execute code with NT\SYSTEM privileges on the end machine.

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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Netskope client service (NT\SYSTEM). The service uses a relative path when downloading and unzipping configuration files, allowing unprivileged local users to write arbitrary files to privileged locations and execute code with NT\SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Netskope client to version R100 or later which fixes the relative path handling in the connection handling function.

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
NetskopeApplication
Affected:< 100

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. Confirm Netskope client is installed
    Look for Netskope client software on the system through installed programs list or running processes (e.g., 'nsc' or 'Netskope' processes in Task Manager)
    Affected if Netskope client software is found on the system
  2. Identify installed Netskope version
    Check the installed version of the Netskope client through the program's About or version information, or use 'nsc --version' if the command-line client is available
    Affected if Version is below R100 (e.g., any version number less than 100)
  3. Verify Netskope client service is running
    Check for running Netskope service processes (typically runs as a Windows service under NT\SYSTEM account) using Task Manager or 'sc query' command
    Affected if Netskope service is running with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges
  4. Check for unprivileged write access to config download location
    Since the flaw involves relative path handling in config download/unzip, determine if unprivileged users can write to the directory where the service downloads or extracts configuration files
    Affected if Unprivileged local users have write access to the path where the service downloads and unzips configuration files

User is affected if Netskope client version is below R100, the client service is running, and unprivileged users can write to the relative path used for configuration file download/extraction.

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 100 or later
Fixed in 100
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Netskope client to version R100 or later which fixes the relative path handling in the connection handling function.

Recommended fix High confidence

R100

  1. Identify the current Netskope client version installed on the system
  2. Download the Netskope client version R100 or later from the official Netskope portal or designated distribution channel
  3. Schedule an appropriate maintenance window to perform the upgrade
  4. Run the Netskope client installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  5. Verify the installed version confirms the upgrade to R100 or later completed successfully
  6. Test that the Netskope client service operates normally after the upgrade

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

Fix this in Netskope 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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-2023-2270 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