CVE-2023-34391
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 · uneditedInsecure Inherited Permissions vulnerability in Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC Software on Windows allows Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths. See Instruction Manual Appendix A [Cybersecurity] tag dated 20230522 for more details. This issue affects SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC Software: before 1.35.151.21000.
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 confidenceInsecure Inherited Permissions vulnerability in SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC Software allows manipulation of configuration file search paths on Windows. The application likely loads configuration files from locations where untrusted users could place malicious configs, potentially allowing privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution by leveraging the application's inherited permissions when reading these files.
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< 1.35.151.21000CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 installed version of SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC SoftwareOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC in the list, and note the version column. Alternatively, right-click the application executable in its installation directory, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the Product Version.Affected if Version is shown as less than 1.35.151.21000 (e.g., 1.35.x.x where x is below 151, or any version prior to 1.35)
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Locate the application's configuration directoryNavigate to the SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\SEL\AcSELerator RTAC or C:\Program Files (x86)\SEL\AcSELerator RTAC). Look for subdirectories that may store configuration files such as Config, Settings, Projects, or similar folders.Affected if Configuration directories exist within the installation path or in user-accessible locations like %APPDATA% or %USERPROFILE%.
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Check file system permissions on configuration directoriesRight-click the configuration folder, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and review the permissions. Verify which users or groups have Write access to these folders.Affected if Users with low privileges (such as Standard Users orAuthenticated Users) have Write permissions to folders where the application loads configuration files from.
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Identify configuration file search pathsReview any documentation, help files, or registry entries (HKLM\SOFTWARE\SEL\AcSELerator or HKCU\SOFTWARE\SEL\AcSELerator) that indicate where the application searches for configuration files. Monitor the application startup using Process Monitor from Sysinternals to capture file access operations.Affected if The application loads configuration files from user-writable locations such as the application directory, user profile folders, or temp directories.
You are affected if the installed version is earlier than 1.35.151.21000 AND the application loads configuration files from directories writable by untrusted users.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.35.151.21000
Upgrade to SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC Software version 1.35.151.21000 or later, which addresses the insecure path handling. Additionally, ensure the application runs from protected directories with restricted write access to prevent untrusted configuration file injection.
1.35.151.21000
- Identify current SEL-5033 AcSELerator RTAC Software version installed on the Windows system
- Navigate to the official SEL (Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories) website or contact SEL technical support to obtain version 1.35.151.21000 or later
- Obtain the upgrade package following SEL's standard procurement/process (typically requires account/registration)
- Backup current configuration files and project data as a precautionary measure
- Run the installer for version 1.35.151.21000 on the Windows system
- Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
- Verify the installed version shows 1.35.151.21000 or later after installation
- Confirm the application functions normally with existing configurations
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-34391 — 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-2023-34391 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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- 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
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