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MinecraftApplication

CVE-2023-33245

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.19 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Minecraft through 1.19 and 1.20 pre-releases before 7 (Java) allow arbitrary file overwrite, and possibly code execution, via crafted world data that contains a symlink.

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

Minecraft Java Edition before 1.20 pre-release 7 fails to properly validate symlinks within world save data, allowing an attacker to craft a malicious world containing symlinks that point outside the intended game directory. When loaded, this permits arbitrary file overwrite on the server or client filesystem, potentially leading to remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate Minecraft Java Edition to version 1.20 pre-release 7 or later. Server operators should avoid loading world data from untrusted sources.

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
MinecraftApplication
Affected:<= 1.19= 1.20

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check installed Minecraft Java Edition version
    Open the Minecraft launcher, click on the game version selector dropdown, or check the version.json in the installation directory. On Windows this is typically in %APPDATA%\.minecraft\versions\. On macOS check ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/versions/. The version file will be named like '1.20' or '1.19.4'.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.20 (any build before pre-release 7) or any version 1.19.x or earlier.
  2. Verify if running a server or hosting multiplayer worlds
    Check if the Minecraft process is running as a dedicated server (check for run.bat, run.sh, or the server JAR file) or if the installation is used to host multiplayer sessions for other players.
    Affected if The server hosts worlds from untrusted players or loads world save data from external sources.
  3. Inspect world save directories for symlinks
    On the server or client filesystem, navigate to the world save directory (saves folder). On Windows this is typically %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves\. On Linux check ~/.minecraft/saves/. Use a command to list symlinks: on Windows run 'dir /AL' or 'Get-ChildItem -Force' in PowerShell; on Linux run 'ls -la' and look for entries starting with 'l' in the first column or use 'find . -type l'.
    Affected if Any symlink is found within world save directories that points to locations outside the intended world folder.
  4. Check recent downloaded world files
    Review any recently downloaded or imported world archive files (.zip, .tar, .mcworld) from untrusted sources. Extract and inspect the contents for symbolic links before loading them in the game.
    Affected if World files from untrusted sources have been downloaded and loaded without inspection.

A user is affected if their installed Minecraft Java Edition version is 1.20 before pre-release 7 or any 1.19.x and they load world data from untrusted or unknown sources, as the symlink validation flaw allows arbitrary file writes.

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 a release after 1.19
Interim mitigation

Update Minecraft Java Edition to version 1.20 pre-release 7 or later. Server operators should avoid loading world data from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Minecraft Java Edition 1.20.7 or later stable release

  1. 1. Backup your Minecraft world saves and mods before updating.
  2. 2. Open the Minecraft Launcher.
  3. 3. Navigate to the Installations tab.
  4. 4. Create a new installation or edit an existing one.
  5. 5. Select version 1.20.7 or later (such as 1.20.8, 1.21.x, or latest stable release).
  6. 6. Launch the game with the updated version to ensure the vulnerability is patched.
  7. 7. Verify that worlds load correctly after the update.
Caveat Mods may need updates for compatibility with newer minor versions; always check mod compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Minecraft Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-33245 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