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ZoomApplication

CVE-2023-36541

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.14.5 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Insufficient verification of data authenticity in Zoom Desktop Client for Windows before 5.14.5 may allow an authenticated 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

The Zoom Desktop Client for Windows before version 5.14.5 contains an insufficient verification of data authenticity vulnerability. An attacker who already has valid authentication credentials can exploit this by sending specially crafted network traffic that the client trusts without proper validation, allowing them to escalate their privileges to a higher level than intended.

MitigationUpdate Zoom Desktop Client for Windows to version 5.14.5 or later. Organizations should enforce automatic updates or deploy the patched version through their patch management infrastructure.

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:< 5.14.5

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check Zoom client version in the application
    Open the Zoom Desktop Client for Windows, click on your profile picture or initials in the top-right corner, then select 'Help' > 'About Zoom'. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 5.14.5 (for example, 5.14.0, 5.13.0, etc.)
  2. Check Zoom version via Windows Programs and Features
    Open the Windows Control Panel or Settings, navigate to 'Programs and Features' or 'Apps & features', locate 'Zoom' in the list of installed software, and note the version shown in the 'Version' column.
    Affected if The listed version is lower than 5.14.5
  3. Check Zoom executable file version
    Navigate to the Zoom installation directory (typically C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Zoom\bin or C:\Program Files\Zoom\bin), right-click on 'Zoom.exe', select 'Properties', go to the 'Details' tab, and note the 'File version' value.
    Affected if The file version is lower than 5.14.5 (for example, 5.14.0.0 or earlier)
  4. Verify the installation source is Windows
    Confirm that the installed client is the Zoom Desktop Client for Windows specifically, as other platforms (macOS, Linux, mobile) have separate affected version ranges. The detection steps above apply only to the Windows desktop client.
    Affected if The vulnerable software is confirmed to be the Zoom Desktop Client for Windows with a version below 5.14.5

You are affected if the Zoom Desktop Client for Windows is installed and its version number is less than 5.14.5.

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 5.14.5 or later
Fixed in 5.14.5
Interim mitigation

Update Zoom Desktop Client for Windows to version 5.14.5 or later. Organizations should enforce automatic updates or deploy the patched version through their patch management infrastructure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Zoom Desktop Client for Windows 5.14.5 or later

  1. Open Zoom Desktop Client for Windows
  2. Click on your profile picture or initials in the top-right corner
  3. Select 'Check for Updates' from the dropdown menu
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update' to download and install version 5.14.5 or later
  5. Alternatively, download the latest Zoom installer from the official Zoom website (zoom.us)
  6. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. Restart Zoom Desktop Client after the update completes
  8. Verify the installed version by clicking on profile picture > 'About Zoom' to confirm version 5.14.5 or higher

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

Fix this in Zoom 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-2023-36541 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