CVE-2023-36853
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 · uneditedIn Keysight Geolocation Server v2.4.2 and prior, a low privileged attacker could create a local ZIP file containing a malicious script in any location. The attacker could abuse this to load a DLL with SYSTEM privileges.
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 confidenceA local privilege escalation vulnerability in Keysight Geolocation Server v2.4.2 and prior allows a low-privileged attacker to place a malicious script in a ZIP file to trigger arbitrary DLL loading with SYSTEM privileges.
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<= 2.4.2CVSS 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.
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Identify if Keysight Geolocation Server is installedCheck the system for Keysight Geolocation Server by looking in common installation directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\Keysight\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Keysight\) or by checking Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'Keysight Geolocation Server'Affected if The product is present on the system
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Determine the installed versionLocate the version information from the installation directory, or query the Windows Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Keysight Geolocation Server\Version, or check the 'DisplayVersion' value in the uninstall registry entryAffected if The version number is 2.4.2 or lower, or if no version can be determined but the product is installed
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Verify service configuration and privilegesOpen Services console (services.msc) and locate the Keysight Geolocation Server service. Check the 'Log on as' setting to confirm it runs under SYSTEM or another high-privilege accountAffected if The service runs with elevated privileges (SYSTEM, LocalSystem, or Administrator)
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Assess low-privileged user file write permissionsIdentify directories where the application processes ZIP files or loads DLLs from (commonly the installation directory or subfolders). Use icacls or AccessChk to test if low-privileged users can create or write files in these locationsAffected if Low-privileged users have write access to directories from which the application loads DLLs or processes files
The system is affected if Keysight Geolocation Server version 2.4.2 or lower is installed, the service runs with elevated privileges, and low-privileged users can write to directories where the application loads DLLs or processes ZIP files.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a version newer than v2.4.2 or apply vendor-supplied patches; additionally, restrict file creation permissions for low-privileged users to prevent placement of malicious files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,848.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-36853 — 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-2023-36853 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data