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Aruba Virtual Intranet AccessApplication · Hp

CVE-2023-38402

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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 vulnerability in the HPE Aruba Networking Virtual Intranet Access (VIA) client could allow malicious users to overwrite arbitrary files as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. A successful exploit could allow these malicious users to create a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition affecting the Microsoft Windows operating System boot process.

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

The HPE Aruba Networking VIA client contains a privilege escalation flaw allowing local attackers to overwrite arbitrary files with NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM privileges. This occurs due to improper access control within the client, enabling a malicious user to modify critical system files and cause a boot-process denial-of-service on Windows systems.

MitigationApply the vendor-released patch for HPE Aruba VIA when available; until then, restrict access to the VIA client installation directory and monitor for unauthorized local access attempts.

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
Aruba Virtual Intranet AccessApplication
Affected:< 4.5.0

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Confirm HPE Aruba VIA installation
    Check for HPE Aruba VIA client by inspecting the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{DisplayName} or by looking for the installation folder under C:\Program Files\Aruba Networks\VIA or C:\Program Files (x86)\Aruba Networks\VIA
    Affected if The HPE Aruba Virtual Intranet Access client is found on the system
  2. Identify installed version
    Retrieve the installed version from the Windows registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Aruba Networks\VIA\Version or check the version property of VIA.exe in the installation directory
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.5.0 (e.g., 4.4.x, 4.3.x, or earlier)
  3. Verify VIA service presence
    Open Services console (services.msc) and look for a service named 'Aruba VIA' or 'VIA Service' or check via command: sc queryex type= service state= all | findstr /i "via"
    Affected if A VIA-related service is running or installed on the system
  4. Inspect installation directory permissions
    Right-click the VIA installation folder, go to Properties > Security, and verify that standard users or non-admin accounts have write or modify permissions to the directory or its subdirectories
    Affected if Standard users have write/modify access to the VIA installation directory (this indicates the improper access control condition)
  5. Check for unauthorized file modifications
    Use Windows Event Viewer to search Security logs for Event ID 4656 (file open request) or 4663 (file deletion/modification) targeting system files from processes running under the VIA service account
    Affected if Logs show that the VIA service account (or processes under NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM) has modified critical system files outside the normal VIA directory

A user is affected if HPE Aruba VIA client version is below 4.5.0 and the installation directory permits write access to non-privileged users, enabling local privilege escalation via file overwrite.

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 4.5.0 or later
Fixed in 4.5.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-released patch for HPE Aruba VIA when available; until then, restrict access to the VIA client installation directory and monitor for unauthorized local access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Aruba VIA version 4.5.0 or later

  1. Verify the currently installed Aruba VIA client version by checking Add/Remove Programs or the VIA application itself
  2. Download the Aruba VIA client version 4.5.0 or later from the official Aruba Networks support portal
  3. Ensure you have appropriate backups and system recovery options in place before upgrading
  4. Uninstall the current Aruba VIA version or run the installer to upgrade in place
  5. Restart the Windows system after the upgrade completes
  6. Verify the new version is 4.5.0 or higher by checking the installed version

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

Fix this in Aruba Virtual Intranet Access Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.

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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-2023-38402 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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