CVE-2023-25396
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 · uneditedPrivilege escalation in the MSI repair functionality in Caphyon Advanced Installer 20.0 and below allows attackers to access and manipulate system files.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Caphyon Advanced Installer's MSI repair functionality. The repair process, which runs with elevated privileges, fails to properly validate or sandbox file operations, allowing attackers to manipulate system files beyond the intended installation scope.
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<= 20.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Advanced Installer is installedCheck for Advanced Installer in Programs and Features, or look for installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Caphyon\Advanced Installer or C:\Program Files (x86)\Caphyon\Advanced Installer. Also check for msiexec.exe usage with Advanced Installer-related MSI packages.Affected if Advanced Installer is present on the system
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Identify installed Advanced Installer versionLocate the Advanced Installer executable (e.g., AdvInst.exe or similar) in the installation directory and check its version properties, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Advanced Installer*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersionAffected if Version is 20.0 or lower
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Verify MSI repair has been executedReview Windows Event Logs under Application and Setup logs for Event ID 1001 or msiexec entries with /f (repair) switch. Also check for MSI log files in %TEMP% containing repair operations.Affected if MSI repair operations have been performed on Advanced Installer-created packages
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Inspect for unauthorized system file modificationsCompare current system files in Windows\System32 and Windows\SysWOW64 against known good baselines, or use autoruns/Process Monitor to detect unexpected file writes during repair operations.Affected if Files outside the expected installation scope have been modified after repair operations
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Detect msiexec repair command usageMonitor command line logging or review scheduled tasks for msiexec /f commands. Check for abnormal invocation of msiexec with /fpecu switches targeting MSI packages built with Advanced Installer.Affected if MSI repair commands were executed outside normal maintenance windows
The system is affected if Advanced Installer version 20.0 or lower is installed and MSI repair functionality has been used, potentially allowing unauthorized system file modifications with elevated privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade to a version above 20.0 where the vulnerability is patched. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict access to the repair functionality and monitor for unauthorized use of msiexec /f commands.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25396 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-25396 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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