CVE-2023-3939
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 · uneditedImproper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability in ZkTeco-based OEM devices allows OS Command Injection. Since all the found command implementations are executed from the superuser, their impact is the maximum possible. This issue affects ZkTeco-based OEM devices (ZkTeco ProFace X, Smartec ST-FR043, Smartec ST-FR041ME and possibly others) with the ZAM170-NF-1.8.25-7354-Ver1.0.0 and possibly other.
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 confidenceOS Command Injection vulnerability in ZkTeco-based biometric access control devices (ProFace X, ST-FR043, ST-FR041ME) where user-supplied input is not properly sanitized before being passed to system shell execution. Since all identified command implementations execute with superuser (root) privileges, an unauthenticated attacker can achieve full system compromise with maximum privilege escalation.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 ZkTeco biometric device models in your environmentInventory network for devices matching ProFace X, ST-FR043, or ST-FR041ME models. Check device web interfaces, physical labels, or network scans for these model identifiers.Affected if The device model is ProFace X, ST-FR043, or ST-FR041ME.
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Locate the device web management interfaceAccess the device IP on common HTTP/HTTPS ports (typically 80, 8080, or 443). Look for ZkTeco branding or access control configuration pages.Affected if A ZkTeco device web interface is reachable at the target IP.
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Check device firmware versionNavigate to the device web interface System Info or About page. Locate the firmware version string displayed.Affected if The firmware version is any version prior to vendor patch release (compare against ZkTeco security advisories).
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Assess network exposure of the deviceDetermine if the device web interface IP is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet. Scan for open ports 80, 8080, 443 on the device.Affected if The device management interface is exposed to networks outside your trusted segment.
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Verify command execution is possibleTest by attempting to inject shell metacharacters (e.g., |, ;, &&) into web form parameters. Observe if commands execute or return unexpected output.Affected if User input in web parameters is reflected in system command execution without sanitization.
You are affected if you have deployed any ProFace X, ST-FR043, or ST-FR041ME devices with their management interfaces accessible on your network, regardless of firmware version until a vendor patch is confirmed.
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 dataIsolate affected devices on a restricted network segment; contact ZkTeco/supported OEM vendors for firmware patches; if patches unavailable, consider device replacement with currently-supported models.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3939 — 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-2023-3939 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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- 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
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