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Unison SoftwareApplication · Intel

CVE-2023-39228

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Improper access control for some Intel Unison software may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via network access.

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

Intel Unison software contains an improper access control vulnerability that allows unauthenticated users to trigger a denial of service condition via network access. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of access permissions before processing network requests, enabling remote attackers to cause the application to become unavailable without any credentials.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for Intel Unison when available. Until then, restrict network exposure of systems running Intel Unison to trusted networks only, and implement network-level access controls to limit which hosts can communicate with the service.

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
Unison SoftwareApplication
Affected:< 20.14.5683.0< 20.14.4244< 20.14.2.3053

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Locate Intel Unison installation and version
    Check the installed version of Intel Unison Software. On Windows, look in Programs and Features or check C:\Program Files\Intel\Unison\ for the application executable and its properties. On macOS, check /Applications/ for Intel Unison.app and use Get Info to view version. Registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\Unison may also contain version information.
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 20.14.5683.0, earlier than 20.14.4244, or earlier than 20.14.2.3053 (note: version numbers vary by release branch, so any version below these thresholds indicates vulnerability).
  2. Identify network service exposure
    Determine if Intel Unison is running as a network service. Check running processes for Intel Unison components (e.g., UnisonService.exe or similar). Use command 'netstat -an' or 'ss -tuln' to list listening ports, looking for any port associated with Intel Unison (commonly ports in the 4000-5000 range or the Intel Unison service port).
    Affected if Intel Unison service is listening on a network port and is accessible to untrusted network segments.
  3. Verify network binding configuration
    Examine how the Intel Unison service is bound. Check if the service listens on all interfaces (0.0.0.0 or ::) versus only localhost (127.0.0.1). Review any firewall rules or service configuration that controls network accessibility. Consult Intel Unison documentation or service configuration files for default binding behavior.
    Affected if The service is bound to 0.0.0.0 or :: (all interfaces) rather than 127.0.0.1 only, making it reachable from any network host.
  4. Assess network accessibility
    From an external host on a different network segment, attempt to reach the Intel Unison service port using telnet, nc, or PowerShell Test-NetConnection. If the connection succeeds or the port is reported as open, the service is network-exposed.
    Affected if The Intel Unison service port is reachable from untrusted network hosts without authentication.

A user is affected if Intel Unison Software is installed with a version below 20.14.5683.0/20.14.4244/20.14.2.3053 AND the network service is exposed to untrusted network segments.

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 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 / 20.14.5683.0 or later
Fixed in 20.14.2.305320.14.424420.14.5683.0
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches for Intel Unison when available. Until then, restrict network exposure of systems running Intel Unison to trusted networks only, and implement network-level access controls to limit which hosts can communicate with the service.

Recommended fix High confidence

20.14.5683.0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Intel Unison software installed on the system
  2. 2. Download the latest version of Intel Unison software from the official Intel website or your vendor
  3. 3. Follow Intel's standard upgrade procedure for Unison software
  4. 4. Verify the installed version after upgrade matches or exceeds 20.14.5683.0

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

Fix this in Unison Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2023-39228 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