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Sel 5037 Sel Grid ConfiguratorApplication · Selinc

CVE-2023-31173

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5.0.20 or later.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability in Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator on Windows allows Authentication Bypass. See Instruction Manual Appendix A and Appendix E dated 20230615 for more details. This issue affects SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator: before 4.5.0.20.

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

The SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator contains hard-coded credentials embedded in the software that allow authentication bypass. An attacker with knowledge of these credentials can bypass the authentication mechanism to gain unauthorized access to the application and potentially the underlying power grid control systems.

MitigationUpgrade SEL Grid Configurator to version 4.5.0.20 or later to remove the hard-coded credentials. Before deployment in production, test the update in a staging environment to ensure compatibility with existing SEL infrastructure.

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
Sel 5037 Sel Grid ConfiguratorApplication
Affected:< 4.5.0.20

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Locate SEL Grid Configurator installation
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs), and look for 'SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator' or 'SEL Grid Configurator' in the installed programs list.
    Affected if The application appears in the installed programs list.
  2. Identify installed version number
    In Programs and Features, locate the SEL Grid Configurator entry and note the version number displayed in the Version column. If not shown there, right-click the entry and select Properties, or check within the application's Help > About menu.
    Affected if A version number is displayed in the program listing.
  3. Compare version against vulnerable range
    Compare the installed version number to 4.5.0.20. Versions less than 4.5.0.20 (for example, 4.5.0.0 through 4.5.0.19) are affected by this vulnerability.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.5.0.20 (for example, 4.4.x.x or 4.5.0.10).

If SEL Grid Configurator is installed and the version is below 4.5.0.20, the environment contains the hard-coded credentials vulnerability.

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 4.5.0.20 or later
Fixed in 4.5.0.20
Interim mitigation

Upgrade SEL Grid Configurator to version 4.5.0.20 or later to remove the hard-coded credentials. Before deployment in production, test the update in a staging environment to ensure compatibility with existing SEL infrastructure.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.5.0.20

  1. Identify the currently installed SEL-5037 SEL Grid Configurator version on affected Windows systems
  2. Navigate to the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) official website or contact SEL support to obtain version 4.5.0.20 or later of SEL Grid Configurator
  3. Download the installer for SEL Grid Configurator version 4.5.0.20 or the latest stable release
  4. Before upgrading, backup any existing project files, configurations, and settings created with the current installation
  5. Close the currently running SEL Grid Configurator application and ensure no SEL processes are active
  6. Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
  7. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  8. After installation, verify the installed version matches 4.5.0.20 or later

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

Fix this in Sel 5037 Sel Grid Configurator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

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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-2023-31173 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