dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2023-35037

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Surfer Surfer surferseo allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Surfer: from n/a through <= 1.3.2.357.

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

Missing authorization vulnerability in Surfer SEO allows exploiting incorrectly configured access control security levels. The vulnerability stems from improper or missing authorization checks that fail to properly validate user permissions before allowing access to certain functionality or data.

MitigationUpdate Surfer to a version beyond 1.3.2.357 that contains the patched authorization controls, or implement proper access control validation at all sensitive endpoints.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Surfer SEO is installed
    Check system for Surfer SEO application installation - look for Surfer processes, browser extensions, or desktop application files
    Affected if Surfer SEO software is present in the environment
  2. Determine installed Surfer SEO version
    Access Surfer SEO settings or about panel within the application, or check installed package/version information via application menu
    Affected if Version is 1.3.2.357 or earlier
  3. Verify authorization configuration
    Review Surfer SEO access control settings, user permission levels, and security configuration options within the application admin panel
    Affected if Authorization controls are not properly configured or appear to allow unchecked access to sensitive features
  4. Test access control boundaries
    Attempt to access different permission-gated features or data within Surfer SEO using an account with limited privileges to verify proper enforcement
    Affected if Lower-privilege users can access functionality or data that should require higher permissions
  5. Check for sensitive endpoint exposure
    Inspect API calls or internal requests made by Surfer SEO to identify any endpoints that may lack proper authorization header or token validation
    Affected if Sensitive endpoints respond without requiring valid authorization credentials

If Surfer SEO is installed and the version is 1.3.2.357 or earlier with improperly configured access controls, the environment is likely affected by this authorization bypass vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Surfer to a version beyond 1.3.2.357 that contains the patched authorization controls, or implement proper access control validation at all sensitive endpoints.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2023-35037 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
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