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Pega PlatformApplication · Pega

CVE-2023-28094

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.8.3 or later.
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
Pega platform clients who are using versions 7.4 through 8.8.x and have upgraded from a version prior to 8.x may be utilizing default credentials.

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

Pega platform versions 7.4 through 8.8.x contain default credentials for clients who upgraded from versions prior to 8.x. This critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) allows unauthenticated attackers to potentially gain administrative access to the Pega system through these pre-configured default credentials that were not changed during the upgrade process.

MitigationOrganizations should immediately identify and change all default credentials, perform a complete audit of user accounts for unauthorized access, and implement strong password policies. Pega provides specific guidance in their security bulletin for affected versions.

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
Pega PlatformApplication
Affected:>= 6.1, <= 8.8.3

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 installed Pega Platform version
    Access the Pega administration console or check system information to determine the exact version number of the Pega Platform installation
    Affected if The installed version is between 6.1 and 8.8.3 inclusive
  2. Determine upgrade history
    Review the system's upgrade history or migration records to confirm whether the installation was upgraded from a version prior to 8.x
    Affected if The system was upgraded from a pre-8.x version
  3. Audit user accounts for default credentials
    Review all user accounts in the Pega Platform, particularly administrative accounts, to identify any that may be using default or well-known credentials
    Affected if Default credentials from the upgrade process were not changed
  4. Check for unchanged default administrative accounts
    Examine administrative user accounts in the system to determine if any retain default passwords that were set during initial installation or upgrade
    Affected if Administrative accounts still use default passwords

A system is affected if it runs Pega Platform versions 6.1 through 8.8.3 and was upgraded from a pre-8.x version, with default credentials remaining unchanged

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 a release after 8.8.3
Interim mitigation

Organizations should immediately identify and change all default credentials, perform a complete audit of user accounts for unauthorized access, and implement strong password policies. Pega provides specific guidance in their security bulletin for affected versions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Pega Platform 8.8.4 or later (or latest patch on your supported version line)

  1. 1. Identify all Pega Platform installations affected by CVE-2023-28094 (versions 7.4 through 8.8.3 that were upgraded from versions prior to 8.x)
  2. 2. Review and change any default credentials that may still be in use, particularly the PEGA administrator account
  3. 3. If available, apply the latest Pega Platform patch for your version line (8.8.4 or later for the 8.8.x branch)
  4. 4. Verify that all default credentials have been changed to strong, unique passwords
  5. 5. Conduct a security audit to confirm no unauthorized access is possible using default credentials
Caveat Before upgrading, review Pega's upgrade guide and test in a non-production environment; ensure customizations are compatible with the target version

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

Fix this in Pega Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,180
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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-2023-28094 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