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ZoomApplication

CVE-2023-36534

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.14.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Path traversal in Zoom Desktop Client for Windows before 5.14.7 may allow an unauthenticated user to enable an escalation of privilege via network access.

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

A path traversal vulnerability in Zoom Desktop Client for Windows versions prior to 5.14.7 allows an unauthenticated attacker to potentially achieve privilege escalation through network access. The vulnerability exploits improper path validation, enabling an attacker to access or write files outside the intended directory boundaries.

MitigationUpgrade Zoom Desktop Client for Windows to version 5.14.7 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via centralized software distribution and verify complete coverage across all Windows endpoints.

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
ZoomApplication
Affected:< 5.14.7

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Locate Zoom Desktop Client installation on Windows
    Check common installation paths such as C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Zoom\bin\ or C:\Program Files\Zoom\bin\ for Zoom.exe. Also check Add/Remove Programs or the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ZoomUMX for the installation entry.
    Affected if Zoom Desktop Client for Windows is installed on the system.
  2. Identify the installed Zoom version number
    Right-click Zoom.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, open Zoom, click your profile picture, and select 'Check for Updates' or access Help > About Zoom to view the version number displayed.
    Affected if The version displayed is lower than 5.14.7 (for example, 5.14.0 through 5.14.6).
  3. Confirm the operating system is Windows
    Verify the affected Zoom client is running on a Windows operating system, as this vulnerability specifically affects the Windows version. Check System Properties or run 'systeminfo' at command prompt to confirm the OS type.
    Affected if The Zoom Desktop Client is installed on a Windows operating system and the version is below 5.14.7.

A system is affected if Zoom Desktop Client for Windows is installed and the installed version number is lower than 5.14.7.

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 5.14.7 or later
Fixed in 5.14.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Zoom Desktop Client for Windows to version 5.14.7 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update via centralized software distribution and verify complete coverage across all Windows endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

5.14.7 or later

  1. Navigate to the official Zoom download page at explore.zoom.us and download the Zoom Desktop Client for Windows
  2. If currently running Zoom, close the application completely
  3. Run the Zoom installer executable to upgrade to the latest version
  4. Alternatively, uninstall the existing Zoom client first, then install the fresh downloaded version
  5. After installation, open Zoom and navigate to the version information (typically in Help > About Zoom) to confirm the installed version is 5.14.7 or later

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

Fix this in Zoom Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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-2023-36534 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