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SonicosOperating system · Sonicwall

CVE-2023-41712

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 / 6.5.4.13-105n or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
SonicOS post-authentication Stack-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in the SSL VPN plainprefs.exp URL endpoint leads to a firewall crash.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in SonicOS SSL VPN's plainprefs.exp endpoint allows authenticated attackers to cause a firewall crash. This post-authentication issue stems from improper bounds checking when handling URL parameters.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch for CVE-2023-41712 to SonicOS; until patched, limit SSL VPN access to only essential, trusted administrators and monitor for anomalous 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
SonicosOperating system
Affected:< 7.0.1-5145< 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340< 6.5.4.13-105n

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify the installed SonicOS version
    Log into the SonicWall management interface and navigate to System > Status, or use the CLI command 'show version' to display the firmware version
    Affected if The displayed version is below 7.0.1-5145, below 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340, or below 6.5.4.13-105n (matching the appropriate major.minor branch)
  2. Confirm SSL VPN is enabled
    In the SonicWall management UI, go to VPN > Settings or SSL VPN > Settings and verify whether the SSL VPN service is turned on
    Affected if SSL VPN is currently enabled on the appliance
  3. Verify VPN access is permitted
    Check the VPN > Settings page to confirm SSL VPN access is granted to at least one user or user group
    Affected if Any user accounts have SSL VPN permissions, making the vulnerable endpoint reachable post-authentication
  4. Check management interface accessibility
    Confirm the SonicWall administrative interface (HTTPS on port 443) is reachable from your network, as authentication is required to reach the vulnerable plainprefs.exp endpoint
    Affected if The management interface is externally or broadly accessible without strict access lists

You are affected if your SonicOS version falls within the unpatched ranges AND SSL VPN is enabled with at least one user granted VPN access.

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 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 / 6.5.4.13-105n / 7.0.1-5145 or later
Fixed in 6.5.4.4-44v-21-23406.5.4.13-105n7.0.1-5145
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patch for CVE-2023-41712 to SonicOS; until patched, limit SSL VPN access to only essential, trusted administrators and monitor for anomalous activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to SonicOS 7.0.1-5145 (or later 7.x), or 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 (or later 6.5.4.4-xx), or 6.5.4.13-105n (or later 6.5.4.13-xx) depending on current branch

  1. 1. Identify the current SonicOS version by navigating to the SonicWall management interface and checking System > Status or using the CLI command 'show version'
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on current version (7.x, 6.5.4.4-xx, or 6.5.4.13-xx)
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed firmware from the SonicWall support portal: for 7.x branch use 7.0.1-5145 or later, for 6.5.4.4 branch use 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 or later, for 6.5.4.13 branch use 6.5.4.13-105n or later
  4. 4. Back up the current configuration from System > Settings > Backup/Restore
  5. 5. Upload and install the firmware upgrade via Manage > Settings > Firmware Management or CLI
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the new version is installed and the SSL VPN plainprefs.exp endpoint is no longer vulnerable
  7. 7. Test SSL VPN functionality to confirm normal operation
Caveat Review SonicWall release notes for any configuration or feature changes between versions before upgrading

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

Fix this in Sonicos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
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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-2023-41712 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