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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 28 Dec 2023. Known ransomware use
Qlik SenseApplication · Qlik

CVE-2023-41265

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS 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
An HTTP Request Tunneling vulnerability found in Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows for versions May 2023 Patch 3 and earlier, February 2023 Patch 7 and earlier, November 2022 Patch 10 and earlier, and August 2022 Patch 12 and earlier allows a remote attacker to elevate their privilege by tunneling HTTP requests in the raw HTTP request. This allows them to send requests that get executed by the backend server hosting the repository application. This is fixed in August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, and August 2022 Patch 13.

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

HTTP Request Tunneling vulnerability in Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows allows remote attackers to tunnel HTTP requests in raw HTTP headers, bypassing security controls to execute requests on the backend repository server, enabling privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, or August 2022 Patch 13 depending on the deployed version.

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
Qlik SenseApplication
Affected:= august_2022= february_2023= may_2023= november_2022

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Qlik Sense version
    Locate the installed Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows version. In the Qlik Management Console, navigate to About Qlik Sense or check the installed software list in Windows Programs and Features. The version format appears as month_year (e.g., august_2022, february_2023, may_2023, november_2022).
    Affected if The installed version matches exactly: august_2022, february_2023, may_2023, or november_2022.
  2. Determine patch level
    Check the installed patch level for the identified version. In Qlik Sense, this is typically visible in the Qlik Management Console under System > About, or by reviewing the installed updates in Windows. Compare your patch number against the known vulnerable patch ranges.
    Affected if The patch level is below the fixed versions: August 2022 Patch 13+, February 2023 Patch 8+, May 2023 Patch 4+, or November 2022 Patch 11+.
  3. Verify repository service exposure
    Inspect network configuration to determine if the Qlik Sense Repository Service (QRS) is exposed to untrusted networks. Check firewall rules, load balancer configurations, and any reverse proxy settings that allow direct access to the repository service ports (typically 4242 for QRS).
    Affected if The repository service is accessible from untrusted network segments or the internet without proper authentication proxying.
  4. Review HTTP request handling
    Examine the Qlik Sense proxy and repository service configuration for settings related to raw HTTP request handling, tunneling, or passthrough. Look for configuration files or settings that control how the proxy handles backend repository requests.
    Affected if Raw HTTP tunneling to the backend repository server is permitted without additional validation layers.

A user is affected if running Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows versions august_2022, february_2023, may_2023, or november_2022 at patch levels below the fixed versions AND the repository service is network-accessible to untrusted users.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, or August 2022 Patch 13 depending on the deployed version.

Recommended fix High confidence

August 2022 Patch 13, November 2022 Patch 11, February 2023 Patch 8, May 2023 Patch 4, or August 2023 IR (depending on the release line being updated)

  1. Identify the currently installed Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows version and patch level
  2. Determine which release line (August 2022, November 2022, February 2023, or May 2023) the installed version belongs to
  3. Download the appropriate security patch: August 2022 Patch 13, November 2022 Patch 11, February 2023 Patch 8, or May 2023 Patch 4 from Qlik's official support portal
  4. Apply the patch following Qlik's standard patch deployment procedures
  5. Restart the Qlik Sense services as required by the patch installation
  6. Verify the patch version is correctly installed in the Qlik Management Console

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

Fix this in Qlik Sense Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
23.0 hours of engineering $3,900
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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-2023-41265 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