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Istar Ultra FirmwareOperating system · Johnsoncontrols

CVE-2023-3127

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.9.2 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
An unauthenticated user could log into iSTAR Ultra, iSTAR Ultra LT, iSTAR Ultra G2, and iSTAR Edge G2 with administrator rights.

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 · high confidence

This is an authentication bypass vulnerability in HID Global iSTAR Ultra and Edge G2 physical access control devices. An unauthenticated remote attacker can gain administrative access to the device without valid credentials, likely due to a flaw in the authentication mechanism that allows privilege escalation to administrator level.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided firmware update (contact HID Global for patch availability) and ensure affected devices are not directly exposed to untrusted networks. Review access logs for unauthorized administrative activity.

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
Istar Ultra FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 6.8.6, < 6.9.2= 6.9.2
Istar Ultra Lt FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 6.8.6, < 6.9.2= 6.9.2
Istar Ultra G2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 6.9.2= 6.9.2
Edge G2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 6.9.2= 6.9.2

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 the device model
    Locate the physical access control device and confirm its model designation. Check the device label, web interface, or management console for the exact model name (iSTAR Ultra, iSTAR Ultra LT, iSTAR Ultra G2, or Edge G2).
    Affected if The device is any of the four affected models: iSTAR Ultra, iSTAR Ultra LT, iSTAR Ultra G2, or Edge G2.
  2. Determine the installed firmware version
    Access the device web interface or management console. Navigate to the firmware or system information section. Record the exact firmware version number displayed.
    Affected if The firmware version is >= 6.8.6 and < 6.9.2, or exactly 6.9.2.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Using the recorded firmware version, verify if it falls within any affected range. Note that version 6.9.2 is specifically affected despite being a later release.
    Affected if The installed version is 6.8.6, 6.8.7, 6.8.8, 6.8.9, 6.9.0, 6.9.1, or 6.9.2.
  4. Assess network exposure of management interface
    Determine if the device web management interface is accessible from untrusted or external networks. Check firewall rules, port forwards, or NAT configurations that expose the device to the internet or non-local networks.
    Affected if The device management interface is directly accessible from untrusted networks without VPN or network segmentation.

The device is affected if it is an iSTAR Ultra, iSTAR Ultra LT, iSTAR Ultra G2, or Edge G2 model running firmware version 6.8.6 through 6.9.2 (inclusive), and its management interface is reachable from untrusted networks.

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 6.9.2 or later
Fixed in 6.9.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided firmware update (contact HID Global for patch availability) and ensure affected devices are not directly exposed to untrusted networks. Review access logs for unauthorized administrative activity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

6.9.3 or later (first fixed release after 6.9.2)

  1. 1. Identify the current firmware version of the affected iSTAR Ultra, iSTAR Ultra LT, iSTAR Ultra G2, or iSTAR Edge G2 device
  2. 2. Download the latest firmware version from the official Johnson Controls product support website
  3. 3. Follow the manufacturer's documented firmware upgrade procedure for the specific device model
  4. 4. Verify the firmware upgrade was successful by checking the new version number
  5. 5. Confirm that the authentication vulnerability is resolved by attempting an unauthenticated access test (or verify via release notes that version 6.9.3+ contains the security fix)
Caveat Review Johnson Controls release notes for any configuration or feature changes between current version and 6.9.3+

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

Fix this in Istar Ultra Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-3127 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