CVE-2023-29444
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 · uneditedAn uncontrolled search path element vulnerability (DLL hijacking) has been discovered that could allow a locally authenticated adversary to escalate privileges to SYSTEM. Alternatively, they could host a trojanized version of the software and trick victims into downloading and installing their malicious version to gain initial access and code execution.
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 DLL hijacking vulnerability where the application uses an uncontrolled search path to load dynamic link libraries. A locally authenticated attacker can place a malicious DLL in a location where the vulnerable application will load it, achieving SYSTEM-level privileges. The alternative attack vector involves tricking users into installing a trojanized version of the software.
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>= 6.0.2107.0, <= 6.14.263.0>= 6.8, <= 6.14.263.0>= 8.0, <= 8.5CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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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Identify installed product and versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell for registry key 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' to find PTC Kepware product entries. Check the DisplayVersion field.Affected if The installed version falls within 6.0.2107.0 to 6.14.263.0 for KepServerEx or Thingworx Kepware Server, or 8.0 to 8.5 for Thingworx Industrial Connectivity.
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Determine the service account running the applicationOpen Windows Services (services.msc), locate the Kepware service, right-click and select Properties. Check the 'Log On As' field. Alternatively, run 'sc qc KepwareServiceName' or 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Kepware*"} | Select-Object Name, StartType, Status' in PowerShell.Affected if The service runs as SYSTEM, Local System, or another high-privilege account.
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Inspect the DLL search path environment variableOpen a command prompt or PowerShell as the Kepware service account and run 'echo %PATH%' to view the search path. Also check the working directory where the application is installed.Affected if The PATH includes user-writable directories (such as Temp, Downloads, or network shares) or the application directory is writable by low-privilege users.
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Check for unsigned or unexpected DLLs in application directoryNavigate to the KepServerEx installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\PTC\KepserverEX or C:\Program Files\PTC\Thingworx), run 'dir *.dll', and compare DLL file signatures using 'signtool verify /pa /v filename.dll' if code signing tools are available.Affected if Any DLL exists that is not digitally signed by PTC or appears suspicious, unauthorized, or timestamps earlier than the original installation.
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Verify DLL loading behaviorUse Process Monitor (ProcMon) from Sysinternals to capture DLL load events for the Kepware process. Filter by Operation equals 'Load Image' and check the Result column for any DLLs loaded from non-system directories.Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories outside the Windows system folder or the application installation directory.
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable PTC Kepware product version within the specified range and the DLL search path allows loading from user-writable or untrusted locations.
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 · scopedImplement secure DLL loading by using absolute paths, safe search order configuration, or manifest-based DLL redirection to prevent untrusted DLLs from being loaded. Additionally, verify DLL integrity through code signing and implement application integrity checks.
Upgrade to Kepserverex/Thingworx Kepware Server version > 6.14.263.0 (contact PTC for the latest stable release)
- Identify the installed Kepware product (Kepserverex, Thingworx Kepware Server, or Thingworx Industrial Connectivity) and current version number
- Confirm the installed version falls within the affected range: Kepserverex 6.0.2107.0-6.14.263.0, Thingworx Kepware Server 6.8-6.14.263.0, or Thingworx Industrial Connectivity 8.0-8.5
- Contact PTC Technical Support or visit the official PTC Customer Success portal to obtain the latest fixed version
- Upgrade to a version higher than 6.14.263.0 (or the latest available stable release)
- After upgrading, verify the installation directory has secure file permissions to prevent unauthorized DLL injection
- Restart the Kepware services to ensure the updated binaries are loaded
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2023-29444 — 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-2023-29444 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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