CVE-2023-34642
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 · uneditedKioWare for Windows through v8.33 was discovered to contain an incomplete blacklist filter for blocked dialog boxes on Windows 10. This issue can allow attackers to open a file dialog box via the function showDirectoryPicker() which can then be used to open an unprivileged command prompt.
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 confidenceKioWare for Windows through v8.33 contains an incomplete blacklist filter that fails to block the showDirectoryPicker() function. This allows an attacker to invoke a file dialog box which can then be leveraged to navigate the filesystem and open an unprivileged command prompt, bypassing the kiosk lockdown restrictions.
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<= 8.33CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify KioWare versionOpen KioWare and navigate to Help > About, or check Add/Remove Programs for the installed versionAffected if The installed version is 8.33 or earlier
-
Confirm kiosk lockdown is activeCheck if KioWare is running in kiosk mode with lockdown restrictions enabledAffected if KioWare is enforcing kiosk lockdown restrictions using a blacklist filter
-
Identify blacklist filter configurationLocate the configuration file or settings that define blocked functions in KioWare (typically found in the KioWare admin or configuration panel)Affected if A blacklist filter is defined but may be incomplete
-
Test showDirectoryPicker availabilityAttempt to invoke showDirectoryPicker() through KioWare's JavaScript execution context or browser engineAffected if The showDirectoryPicker() function is not blocked and can be executed, allowing filesystem access
You are affected if KioWare version 8.33 or earlier is installed with kiosk lockdown enabled and the showDirectoryPicker() function is not blocked by the blacklist filter.
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 · scopedUpdate KioWare to a version beyond v8.33 which contains a complete blacklist filter, or contact the vendor for a patch that properly blocks showDirectoryPicker() and similar dialog-invoking functions.
KioWare for Windows v8.34 or later (latest stable release)
- 1. Navigate to the official KioWare download page at www.kioware.com
- 2. Download the latest version of KioWare for Windows
- 3. Uninstall the current version (v8.33 or earlier) from the system
- 4. Install the newly downloaded version which contains the security fix
- 5. Verify the installation was successful and test that the showDirectoryPicker() function behaves as expected
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-34642 — 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-2023-34642 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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