CVE-2023-38535
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 · uneditedUse of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key vulnerability in OpenText™ Exceed Turbo X affecting versions 12.5.1 and 12.5.2. The vulnerability could compromise the cryptographic keys.
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 confidenceOpenText Exceed Turbo X versions 12.5.1 and 12.5.2 contain a hard-coded cryptographic key embedded in the application code. This vulnerability could allow attackers to recover the static key and decrypt sensitive communications or data protected by the application's encryption.
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= 12.5.0= 12.5.1CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Identify the installed Exceed Turbo X versionLocate the Exceed Turbo X installation directory and check the version information, typically found in the program's 'About' dialog, version file, or installation metadata. On Windows, this may be visible in Add/Remove Programs or the program's executable properties.Affected if The installed version is 12.5.0 or 12.5.1
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Compare version against affected rangesVerify the exact version number against the known affected versions 12.5.0 and 12.5.1. Note that version 12.5.2 may also be affected according to the summary.Affected if The version matches 12.5.0, 12.5.1, or 12.5.2
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Confirm the application uses encryption featuresDetermine if Exceed Turbo X encryption or secure communication features are enabled in the environment, as the hard-coded key would only expose data protected by these features.Affected if Encryption features are active and the version is within the affected range
The environment is affected if Exceed Turbo X version 12.5.0, 12.5.1, or 12.5.2 is installed and encryption features are in use.
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 dataContact OpenText support for the vendor-supplied patch or hotfix. If no patch is available, implement compensating controls such as network segmentation and monitor for unauthorized access to the affected systems.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38535 — 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-2023-38535 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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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