NessusApplication · Tenable

CVE-2023-3252

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 arbitrary file write vulnerability exists where an authenticated, remote attacker with administrator privileges could alter logging variables to overwrite arbitrary files on the remote host with log data, which could lead to a denial of service condition.

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

This is an authenticated arbitrary file write vulnerability in the product's logging functionality. An attacker with administrator privileges can manipulate logging variables (likely through path traversal or log file path injection) to write log data to arbitrary files on the filesystem, potentially overwriting critical system files and causing denial of service.

MitigationRestrict administrator privileges to trusted personnel, implement strict input validation on logging path parameters to prevent path traversal, and apply vendor patches when available.

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
NessusApplication
Affected:< 10.6.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 installed Nessus version
    Access the Nessus web interface (typically port 8834) or run 'nessusd -v' from the command line to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 10.6.0 (for example, 10.5.0, 10.4.x, or earlier)
  2. Confirm administrator account access exists
    Check for any active administrator-level user accounts in Nessus by accessing Settings > Users in the web interface or querying the users database
    Affected if At least one administrator account is enabled and accessible (the attacker requires administrator privileges to exploit this flaw)
  3. Verify the logging configuration interface is accessible
    Navigate to Settings > Logging (or similar logging configuration section) in the Nessus web interface to see if logging path parameters can be configured
    Affected if The logging configuration panel allows modification of log file paths or log directory settings
  4. Inspect logging path settings for path traversal indicators
    Review the current logging configuration for any log file path entries containing '..' sequences or absolute paths pointing outside the default Nessus directory
    Affected if The configured log path contains path traversal sequences (such as ../) or points to system directories outside the default Nessus installation folder

Your environment is affected if Nessus version is below 10.6.0 AND an administrator account can access the logging configuration interface to manipulate log file paths.

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 10.6.0 or later
Fixed in 10.6.0
Interim mitigation

Restrict administrator privileges to trusted personnel, implement strict input validation on logging path parameters to prevent path traversal, and apply vendor patches when available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nessus 10.6.0 or later

  1. 1. Backup your current Nessus installation and configuration before upgrading.
  2. 2. Download Nessus version 10.6.0 or later from the Tenable downloads page.
  3. 3. Stop the Nessus service on the host system.
  4. 4. Install the Nessus upgrade package for your operating system.
  5. 5. After installation, verify the installed version is 10.6.0 or higher using 'nessuscli --version' or the web interface.
  6. 6. Start the Nessus service.
  7. 7. Verify all plugins and configurations are working correctly after the upgrade.
Caveat Review Tenable's migration guide for any configuration changes required between major versions; ensure compatibility with your existing Nessus plugins and third-party integrations

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

Fix this in Nessus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-3252 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