CVE-2023-38312
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 · uneditedA directory traversal vulnerability in Valve Counter-Strike 8684 allows a client (with remote control access to a game server) to read arbitrary files from the underlying server via the motdfile console variable.
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 confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability in Valve Counter-Strike allows a client with remote control (RCON) access to read arbitrary files from the server filesystem by manipulating the motdfile console variable with path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd). The motdfile variable, used for displaying message-of-the-day files, lacks proper path sanitization.
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= 8684CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check Counter-Strike server versionExecute the 'version' console command on the server or check the server executable version property. On Linux, you can also run './hlds_run -version' or check the 'version.txt' file in the server directory.Affected if The installed version is exactly 8684 (this specific build is vulnerable)
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Verify RCON is enabled and accessibleCheck the server configuration file (server.cfg or autoexec.cfg) for the 'rcon_password' setting. Also check if the server has any IP-based access restrictions on RCON connections via firewall rules or server startup parameters (-ip flag).Affected if RCON password is set and the server accepts remote RCON connections from untrusted networks (not restricted to localhost or specific IPs)
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Inspect current motdfile console variableExecute 'motdfile' console command via RCON or in the server console to view the current value. Also check config files for any custom motdfile paths.Affected if The motdfile variable points to a file location that could be accessed via path traversal (the default is typically a relative path in the server directory)
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Test path traversal vulnerabilityFrom an RCON session, run: 'motdfile ../../../../etc/passwd' then 'motd' to trigger the server to read the file. If the file content appears in the MOTD, the vulnerability is present.Affected if The server returns file contents from outside the intended server directory when using path traversal sequences in motdfile
A server is affected if it runs version 8684 with RCON exposed to untrusted networks, and the motdfile variable accepts path traversal sequences to read arbitrary 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 dataUpdate the Counter-Strike game server to the latest patched version. Additionally, restrict RCON/remote control access to trusted IP addresses only via server configuration to reduce the attack surface.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38312 — 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-2023-38312 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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