CVE-2023-40302
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 · uneditedNETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE 3.8 has Weak File Permissions Vulnerability
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 confidenceNETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE 3.8 contains a weak file permissions vulnerability that allows unauthorized access to sensitive files or directories due to overly permissive access controls (e.g., world-readable or world-writable permissions). This can lead to confidentiality compromise, data exfiltration, or privilege escalation, as reflected by the critical CVSS score.
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= 3.8.0-0.2349.0CVSS 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
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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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Confirm nGeniusPULSE installationLocate the nGeniusPULSE installation directory or identify the running nGeniusPULSE service on the system. Common methods include checking for the installation in standard directories or running 'ps' commands to find nGeniusPULSE processes.Affected if nGeniusPULSE is installed and the installation directory or process is found on the system.
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Verify the installed versionDetermine the installed version of nGeniusPULSE by querying the application or reading version information from the installation directory. Compare the discovered version against the affected range: 3.8.0-0.2349.0.Affected if The installed version matches exactly 3.8.0-0.2349.0.
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Check for world-readable permissionsUse 'ls -la' or 'getfacl' commands on the nGeniusPULSE installation directory and its subdirectories to identify files or directories with permissions that allow read access to all users (e.g., mode 644, 755, or any permission ending in 4 or 5 for others/group).Affected if Sensitive files such as configuration files, credentials, or log files are found with world-readable permissions (mode settings that include 'r--r--r--' or similar for others).
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Check for world-writable permissionsUse 'ls -la' or 'getfacl' commands on the nGeniusPULSE installation directory to identify files or directories with permissions that allow write access to all users (e.g., mode 666, 777, or any permission ending in 2, 3, 6, or 7 for others/group).Affected if Any files or directories within the nGeniusPULSE installation are found with world-writable permissions (mode settings that include '-w-rw-rw-' or 'dwxrwxrwx' for others).
A system is affected if nGeniusPULSE version 3.8.0-0.2349.0 is installed and the installation directory contains files or directories with world-readable or world-writable permissions, exposing sensitive data or allowing unauthorized modification.
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 dataReview and correct file and directory permissions on the nGeniusPULSE installation to ensure proper ownership and restrictive mode bits (e.g., 640 for config files, 755 for executables), following the principle of least privilege.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40302 — 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-2023-40302 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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