CVE-2023-31169
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 Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding vulnerability in the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software could allow an attacker to embed instructions that could be executed by an authorized device operator. See Instruction Manual Appendix A and Appendix E dated 20230615 for more details. This issue affects SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software: through 7.1.3.0.
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 an improper handling of Unicode encoding vulnerability in SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software (versions through 7.1.3.0). Attackers can embed malicious instructions within Unicode-encoded data that gets processed by the software and potentially executed by authorized device operators during normal operations.
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<= 7.1.3.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Verify SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software is installedOpen Windows Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the installation directory where the software was originally installed. Look for entries named 'SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet' or similar.Affected if The software is present on the system
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Locate the installed executable and determine its versionNavigate to the software installation folder (commonly C:\Program Files\SEL\acSELerator QuickSet or similar), right-click on the main executable (often named QuickSet.exe or similar), select Properties, and check the Details tab for the Product Version.Affected if Unable to locate the executable to check version
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Compare the installed version against the affected rangeReview the Product Version found in the executable properties. Compare it numerically to 7.1.3.0. Any version equal to or lower than 7.1.3.0 falls within the affected range.Affected if The installed version is 7.1.3.0 or any earlier version (e.g., 7.1.2.0, 7.0.x, 6.x)
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Confirm the software processes configuration or data files from external sourcesReview whether the software is used to import, open, or process configuration files, device settings, or data exports that originate from external or untrusted sources, as this is the vector through which Unicode-encoded data would be processed.Affected if The software regularly processes external or untrusted input files
If the installed version of SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software is 7.1.3.0 or earlier, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2023-31169.
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 dataUpdate to a patched version of SEL-5030 acSELerator QuickSet Software once released by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Review Instruction Manual Appendix A and Appendix E (dated 20230615) for specific guidance on handling untrusted input.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2023-31169 — 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-2023-31169 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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