dbcve.org
Secure Access ClientApplication · Ivanti

CVE-2023-38041

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.6 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A logged in user may elevate its permissions by abusing a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition. When a particular process flow is initiated, an attacker can exploit this condition to gain unauthorized elevated privileges on the affected system.

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

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability where a logged-in user can exploit a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition in the application's permission handling. The attacker manipulates the timing between a privilege check and its enforcement during a specific process flow, allowing unauthorized elevation to higher system privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch addressing the TOCTOU race condition in the privilege verification logic. Review and implement proper locking mechanisms around permission-sensitive operations to eliminate the race window.

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
Secure Access ClientApplication
Affected:< 22.6

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify Ivanti Secure Access Client is installed
    Check for the application in standard installation locations: Windows: Program Files\Ivanti\Secure Access Client\ or check Add/Remove Programs. Linux/Unix: look for /opt/ivanti/ or run 'ls -la' in common installation directories.
    Affected if The application is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Windows: Right-click the executable (isaclient.exe or similar) in the installation folder, select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features and find Ivanti Secure Access Client to view the version. Linux: Run the client binary with --version flag or check the installed package metadata.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 22.6 (for example, 22.5, 22.4, earlier versions)
  3. Confirm the client service is running
    Windows: Open Services console (services.msc) and look for 'Ivanti Secure Access Client' service, check if Status is Running. Linux: Run 'ps aux | grep -i ivanti' or check systemd service status.
    Affected if The service is running and the version is vulnerable (< 22.6)
  4. Identify if non-privileged user accounts have access
    Review file permissions on the Ivanti installation directory and check if standard users (non-admin) can interact with the client executable or its configuration files. Use icacls (Windows) or ls -la (Linux) to list permissions.
    Affected if Non-privileged users can access/modify client components and the installed version is below 22.6

A user is affected if Ivanti Secure Access Client version is installed and that version is lower than 22.6, with the client service active on the system.

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 22.6 or later
Fixed in 22.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patch addressing the TOCTOU race condition in the privilege verification logic. Review and implement proper locking mechanisms around permission-sensitive operations to eliminate the race window.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Secure Access Client 22.6

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Ivanti Secure Access Client installed on the system
  2. 2. If the version is below 22.6, download the Secure Access Client version 22.6 or later from the official Ivanti download portal
  3. 3. Create a backup of the current client configuration if possible
  4. 4. Uninstall the current version of Secure Access Client
  5. 5. Install Secure Access Client version 22.6 or the latest available version
  6. 6. Verify the installed version matches the expected fixed version (22.6 or later)
  7. 7. Test that the client connects properly to ensure functionality is maintained

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

Fix this in Secure Access Client Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,248.

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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-2023-38041 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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