Synchronization EngineApplication · Pega

CVE-2023-26466

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.30 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
A user with non-Admin access can change a configuration file on the client to modify the Server URL.

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 is an authorization vulnerability where a non-privileged user can modify a client-side configuration file to change the Server URL. This allows a low-privilege attacker to redirect client connections to an arbitrary server, potentially enabling data theft, man-in-the-middle attacks, or service disruption.

MitigationImplement proper server-side and client-side authorization checks to restrict modification of the Server URL configuration to Admin-level users only, and add server-side validation to reject connections to unauthorized URLs.

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
Synchronization EngineApplication
Affected:>= 3.1.1, < 3.1.30

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. Identify Pega Synchronization Engine installation
    Locate the Pega Synchronization Engine installation directory or check system services for 'Pega Sync Engine' or 'PegaSyncEngine' processes
    Affected if The software is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Check the application version information, typically found in an about dialog, version file, or manifest within the Pega Synchronization Engine installation directory
    Affected if Installed version falls within >= 3.1.1 and < 3.1.30
  3. Locate client configuration file
    Search for configuration files in the user-accessible application data directory, typically under %APPDATA%\Pega or similar user-writable paths, looking for files named config.xml, settings.xml, or client.cfg
    Affected if Configuration file exists in a user-writable location
  4. Verify Server URL is modifiable by non-privileged users
    Attempt to edit the Server URL setting in the client configuration file using a standard user account (non-admin) to confirm write access is available to low-privilege users
    Affected if Non-privileged user account can successfully modify the Server URL setting in the configuration file

Environment is affected if Pega Synchronization Engine version is between 3.1.1 and 3.1.29 inclusive AND non-privileged users can modify the client-side Server URL configuration.

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 3.1.30 or later
Fixed in 3.1.30
Interim mitigation

Implement proper server-side and client-side authorization checks to restrict modification of the Server URL configuration to Admin-level users only, and add server-side validation to reject connections to unauthorized URLs.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Synchronization Engine version 3.1.30 or later

  1. 1. Identify all deployments using Synchronization Engine versions between 3.1.1 and 3.1.29.
  2. 2. Review the Pega Support site (support.pega.com) for the 3.1.30 release notes and any associated hotfixes.
  3. 3. Plan an upgrade to version 3.1.30 or later in a non-production environment first.
  4. 4. Test the upgrade to ensure normal functionality is preserved.
  5. 5. Schedule a maintenance window and apply the upgrade to production environments.
  6. 6. Verify that non-Admin users can no longer modify the Server URL configuration file.

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

Fix this in Synchronization Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,904.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-26466 — 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-2023-26466 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