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ElectronApplication · Electronjs

CVE-2023-23623

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Electron is a framework which lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. A Content-Security-Policy that disables eval, specifically setting a `script-src` directive and _not_ providing `unsafe-eval` in that directive, is not respected in renderers that have sandbox disabled. i.e. `sandbox: false` in the `webPreferences` object. This allows usage of methods like `eval()` and `new Function` unexpectedly which can result in an expanded attack surface. This issue only ever affected the 22 and 23 major versions of Electron and has been fixed in the latest versions of those release lines. Specifically, these versions contain the fixes: 22.0.1 and 23.0.0-alpha.2 We recommend all apps upgrade to the latest stable version of Electron. If upgrading isn't possible, this issue can be addressed without upgrading by enabling `sandbox: true` on all renderers.

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

Electron versions 22.x and 23.x fail to enforce Content-Security-Policy script-src restrictions when sandbox is disabled in webPreferences, allowing eval() and new Function to execute even when 'unsafe-eval' is not included in the CSP directive.

MitigationEither upgrade to Electron 22.0.1+/23.0.0-alpha.2+ OR enable sandbox: true in all renderer webPreferences configurations.

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
ElectronApplication
Affected:= 22.0.0= 23.0.0

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
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 the installed Electron version
    Check the package.json dependency version (electron: "^22.x" or "^23.x"), or run `console.log(process.versions.electron)` in the renderer console, or run `electron --version` from the installed binary
    Affected if The version is 22.0.0 through 22.x.x (before 22.0.1) OR 23.0.0 through 23.x.x (before 23.0.0-alpha.2)
  2. Locate webPreferences configurations in the codebase
    Search source code for BrowserWindow or webContents creation where webPreferences are defined, or inspect at runtime via DevTools: `const w = require("electron").remote.getCurrentWindow(); console.log(w.webContents.getWebPreferences())`
    Affected if Any renderer has sandbox: false explicitly set, or sandbox is omitted (defaults to false in affected versions)
  3. Check if Content-Security-Policy is in use
    Review HTTP response headers for "Content-Security-Policy", or check HTML meta tags (<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="...">)
    Affected if A CSP header or meta tag exists with a script-src directive that does NOT include 'unsafe-eval'
  4. Verify eval/new Function execution is possible
    Open DevTools on the renderer, then run `eval("console.log(1)")` or `new Function("console.log(1)")()`. If either executes without a CSP violation error, the flaw is present
    Affected if eval() or new Function executes successfully despite script-src not containing 'unsafe-eval'

You are affected if running Electron 22.x or 23.x with sandbox disabled in webPreferences AND CSP script-src is configured without 'unsafe-eval', allowing code execution via eval/new Function.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Either upgrade to Electron 22.0.1+/23.0.0-alpha.2+ OR enable sandbox: true in all renderer webPreferences configurations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Electron 22.0.1 or later stable (22.x line), or latest stable 23.x release

  1. Identify the current Electron version used in your application by checking package.json or the electron version in your dependencies
  2. Update Electron to version 22.0.1 or later (for the 22.x release line), or to the latest stable 23.x release
  3. Run npm install or yarn to update the Electron dependency
  4. Rebuild and repackage your application with the updated Electron version
  5. Test that the application functions correctly with the new Electron version
  6. If upgrading is not possible, add 'sandbox: true' to all webPreferences objects in BrowserWindow or webContents creation to mitigate the issue

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

Fix this in Electron Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2023-23623 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