dbcve.org
Manageengine Admanager PlusApplication · Zohocorp

CVE-2023-38743

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.2 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus before Build 7200 allows admin users to execute commands on the host machine.

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 confidence

This is a command injection vulnerability in Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus that allows authenticated admin users to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host machine. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to Build 7200 and enables privilege escalation from application administrator to full system-level access.

MitigationUpgrade ManageEngine ADManager Plus to Build 7200 or later to apply the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict administrative access to trusted personnel and monitor for suspicious command execution activity.

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
Manageengine Admanager PlusApplication
Affected:< 7.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 ADManager Plus installation
    Check for the ADManager Plus installation directory (commonly at C:\ManageEngine\ADManager Plus on Windows or /opt/ADManager Plus on Linux) and verify the product is running as a service.
    Affected if The product is installed and running on the system.
  2. Identify installed version and build number
    Locate the version file or access the About page in the ADManager Plus admin console. The build number is typically displayed in the product UI footer or in a version.txt file within the installation directory.
    Affected if Unable to determine version information from the installation.
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Compare your identified build number to Build 7200 (or version 7.2). Versions prior to Build 7200 are affected by this vulnerability.
    Affected if Your installed build number is less than 7200 (for example, 7180, 7150, etc.) or your version displays as 7.1 or earlier.
  4. Confirm admin accounts exist
    Verify that administrative user accounts are configured in ADManager Plus. This vulnerability requires authenticated admin access to exploit, so the presence of admin accounts indicates a potential attack vector.
    Affected if Admin users are configured and the admin console is network-accessible.
  5. Review logs for suspicious command execution
    Examine ADManager Plus audit logs and server logs for unexpected commands or scripts executed from the application. Look for patterns indicating OS command execution that did not originate from legitimate administrative tasks.
    Affected if Logs show command execution activity that matches known exploitation patterns or is unexplained by authorized administrator actions.

If ADManager Plus is installed with a build number below 7200 (or version below 7.2) and admin access is configured, the environment is affected by CVE-2023-38743.

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 7.2 or later
Fixed in 7.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ManageEngine ADManager Plus to Build 7200 or later to apply the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict administrative access to trusted personnel and monitor for suspicious command execution activity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

ADManager Plus version 7.2 (Build 7200)

  1. 1. Log in to ADManager Plus as an administrator
  2. 2. Navigate to the About or Settings section to verify the current build number (ensure it is below Build 7200)
  3. 3. Download ADManager Plus version 7.2 (Build 7200) or later from the official ManageEngine download portal at www.manageengine.com
  4. 4. Review the upgrade instructions in the ADManager Plus Administration Guide
  5. 5. Create a full backup of the ADManager Plus installation, including the database and configuration files
  6. 6. Stop the ADManager Plus service before upgrading
  7. 7. Run the upgrade installer for Build 7200
  8. 8. Start the ADManager Plus service after upgrade completes
Caveat No specific breaking changes documented for this security upgrade; standard upgrade precautions apply

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

Fix this in Manageengine Admanager Plus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-38743 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