CVE-2023-37250
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 · uneditedUnity Parsec has a TOCTOU race condition that permits local attackers to escalate privileges to SYSTEM if Parsec was installed in "Per User" mode. The application intentionally launches DLLs from a user-owned directory but intended to always perform integrity verification of those DLLs. This affects Parsec Loader versions through 8. Parsec Loader 9 is a fixed version.
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 confidenceUnity Parsec contains a TOCTOU race condition in its DLL loading mechanism. When installed in 'Per User' mode, the application loads DLLs from a user-writable directory but performs integrity checks separately, allowing an attacker to swap the DLL between the check and load phases to escalate to 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< 9.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 Parsec is installedCheck for Parsec installation on the system using standard program inventory or directory listingAffected if Parsec is present on the system
-
Determine installed Parsec versionLocate the Parsec application or loader executable and retrieve its version information, then compare against the affected range (versions prior to 9.0)Affected if Installed version is lower than 9.0
-
Confirm installation modeIdentify whether Parsec was installed in Per User mode (user-level installation) versus a system-wide installation. This is typically visible in the installation method, installer location, or installation directories.Affected if Parsec is installed in Per User mode with version below 9.0
A user is affected if Parsec is installed with a version lower than 9.0 AND configured in Per User (user-writable) installation mode, allowing the DLL loading race condition to be exploitable for privilege escalation.
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 · scoped9.0
Upgrade Parsec Loader to version 9 or later. For immediate workarounds, consider uninstalling Per User mode installation and using system-wide installation if feasible.
Parsec Loader 9
- 1. Download Parsec Loader 9 or later from the official Parsec website (support.parsec.app)
- 2. If currently running Parsec, close the application completely
- 3. Run the Parsec installer for version 9 or later
- 4. Follow the installation prompts to complete the upgrade
- 5. Restart the Parsec service or computer to ensure the new loader is active
- 6. Verify the installed version is 9.0 or higher by checking Parsec's about or version information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37250 — 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-2023-37250 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