CVE-2023-31493
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 · uneditedRCE (Remote Code Execution) exists in ZoneMinder through 1.36.33 as an attacker can create a new .php log file in language folder, while executing a crafted payload and escalate privileges allowing execution of any commands on the remote system.
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 confidenceZoneMinder through version 1.36.33 contains an RCE vulnerability where attackers can create malicious .php log files in the language folder by executing a crafted payload, enabling privilege escalation and arbitrary command execution on the affected system.
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<= 1.36.33CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L
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 ZoneMinder installation and versionRun 'zm --version' or check the web interface footer for the version number, or look in the package manager for zoneminder package versionAffected if Version is 1.36.33 or lower
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Locate the language folderFind the path used for language/localization files - commonly under the web root in 'lang/' or 'language/' directory within the ZoneMinder installationAffected if The language folder exists in the ZoneMinder web directory structure
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Verify language folder permissionsCheck write permissions on the language folder using 'ls -la' or equivalent file permission commandAffected if The language folder is writable by the web server user (permissions include 'w' for the web server process owner)
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Inspect for unauthorized PHP filesList all .php files in the language folder using 'find /path/to/language -name "*.php"' and review their contentsAffected if Any unexpected .php files exist in the language folder that were not placed there by administrators
You are affected if ZoneMinder version 1.36.33 or lower is running AND the language folder is writable, allowing attackers to place malicious PHP files for remote code execution
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 dataRestrict write permissions on the language folder to prevent unauthorized file creation, and update to a patched version of ZoneMinder once available.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-31493 — 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-2023-31493 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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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.
- 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