CVE-2023-27362
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 · unedited3CX Uncontrolled Search Path Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of 3CX. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the configuration of OpenSSL. The product loads an OpenSSL configuration file from an unsecured location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-20026.
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 confidence3CX loads an OpenSSL configuration file from an unsecured location that low-privileged users can write to. An attacker with low-privileged code execution can place a malicious openssl.cnf in this location, which 3CX will load when invoking OpenSSL, allowing execution of arbitrary code in SYSTEM context.
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>= 18.0.0.451, < 18.0.8.917CVSS 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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Check 3CX versionOpen the 3CX Management Console or check the installation directory for version information. The version is typically displayed in the console or in the file properties of the 3CX executable.Affected if The installed version is 3CX version 18.0.0.451 or higher, but lower than 18.0.8.917
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Identify OpenSSL configuration file locations used by 3CXReview the environment variables and configuration paths that 3CX uses when invoking OpenSSL. Check the OPENSSL_CONF environment variable and examine the directories in OpenSSL's default search path within the 3CX installation directory.Affected if 3CX is configured to load openssl.cnf from a directory that low-privileged users can write to
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Verify file system permissions on OpenSSL config directoriesUse Windows file system permissions tools (such as icacls) to check write access to the directories where 3CX loads openssl.cnf from. Verify which user groups have write permissions to those directories.Affected if Low-privileged users or the group that the 3CX low-privileged process runs under has write access to the directory containing openssl.cnf
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Inspect for unexpected openssl.cnf filesExamine the OpenSSL configuration directories within the 3CX installation for the presence of openssl.cnf files. Check if any such files exist in writable locations.Affected if An openssl.cnf file exists in a writable directory within the OpenSSL search path used by 3CX
A user is affected if 3CX version 18.0.0.451 through 18.0.8.916 is installed and OpenSSL configuration files are loaded from a directory with weak permissions allowing low-privileged users to modify configuration files.
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.
dbcve · scoped18.0.8.917
Restrict write permissions on directories in OpenSSL's search path to prevent low-privileged users from placing malicious config files; ensure 3CX loads OpenSSL configuration only from secure, admin-controlled locations.
3CX Desktop App version 18.0.8.917 or later
- 1. Verify current 3CX Desktop App version by navigating to Help > About in the application
- 2. Download the updated 3CX Desktop App version 18.0.8.917 or later from the official 3CX website (www.3cx.com)
- 3. Close the 3CX Desktop App if currently running
- 4. Uninstall the current 3CX Desktop App through Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features
- 5. Install the downloaded version 18.0.8.917 or later
- 6. Restart the 3CX Desktop App and verify successful launch
- 7. Confirm the OpenSSL configuration is now loaded from a secure location
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-27362 — 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-2023-27362 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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