CVE-2023-37878
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 · uneditedInsecure default permissions in Wing FTP Server (Admin Web Client) allows for privilege escalation.This issue affects Wing FTP Server: <= 7.2.0.
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 confidenceInsecure default permissions in Wing FTP Server's admin web client allow authenticated users to escalate privileges, likely through improper file system or configuration access controls that grant excessive permissions to lower-privileged accounts.
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<= 7.2.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Wing FTP Server installationLocate Wing FTP Server installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\WingFTP Server on Windows or /opt/wingftp on Linux). Check for the main executable file (wingftpd.exe or wingftpd).Affected if Wing FTP Server is not installed on the system.
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Check installed versionRun the Wing FTP Server administration console or execute: wingftpd --version or check the version displayed in the admin web interface (usually accessible on port 5466). Compare the version number to 7.2.0.Affected if The installed version is 7.2.0 or lower.
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Locate admin web client directoriesNavigate to the admin web client directory within the Wing FTP Server installation. This is typically found in the /wwwroot/admin/ or /admin/ subfolder within the installation directory.Affected if The admin web client directory exists on the system.
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Inspect admin directory file permissionsCheck file and folder permissions on the admin web client directory and its contents. On Windows, right-click the folder, go to Properties > Security. On Linux, run: ls -la /path/to/admin/ directory. Verify which users and groups have read, write, or execute permissions.Affected if Non-administrator or low-privileged users have write or modify permissions to admin web client files or configuration.
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Check admin configuration files for overly permissive accessExamine configuration files in the admin web client directory (such as config.xml, settings.ini, or any .json/.lua files). Check if these files are readable or writable by non-admin users.Affected if Configuration files grant excessive permissions to authenticated but non-privileged users, or allow modification of admin settings by standard users.
If Wing FTP Server version 7.2.0 or lower is installed AND the admin web client directories or configuration files have overly permissive access controls allowing non-admin users to modify admin settings, the system is likely affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.
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 beyond 7.2.0 or review and restrict default permissions on admin web client directories and configuration files to enforce proper access controls.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37878 — 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-2023-37878 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
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