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SonicosOperating system · Sonicwall

CVE-2023-41715

HIGH · 8.8 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 →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the SonicOS SSL VPN Tunnel allows users to elevate their privileges inside the tunnel.

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

CVE-2023-41715 is a post-authentication Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in SonicOS SSL VPN Tunnel that allows authenticated users to elevate their privileges within the VPN tunnel. The vulnerability requires valid credentials to exploit but enables privilege escalation once authenticated.

MitigationApply the latest SonicOS firmware update from SonicWall to address this vulnerability. Since this is post-authentication, ensure VPN credentials are properly managed and consider implementing least-privilege access controls for VPN users.

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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. Determine the installed SonicOS firmware version
    Access the SonicWall appliance via CLI and run the command to display the firmware version (commonly 'show version' or 'get system status'), or log into the web management interface and navigate to the System > Status page to view the current firmware build number.
    Affected if The displayed version falls below 7.0.1-5145, below 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340, or below 6.5.4.13-105n.
  2. Verify SSL VPN tunnel is configured
    Log into the SonicWall web interface and navigate to the SSL VPN settings (typically under VPN > SSL VPN or Remote Access > SSL VPN) to confirm whether any SSL VPN tunnels have been created or enabled.
    Affected if Any SSL VPN tunnel is active or configured on the appliance.
  3. Identify users with SSL VPN access
    Check the SSL VPN user configuration (usually under Users > Local Users or VPN > SSL VPN > Users) to list accounts granted SSL VPN privileges.
    Affected if There are local or domain users configured with SSL VPN access rights.
  4. Review privilege assignments for VPN users
    Examine the user group mappings and privilege levels assigned to SSL VPN users in the SonicWall user management settings to determine if any standard VPN users have been granted elevated administrative rights beyond what is intended.
    Affected if Non-administrative VPN users exist in groups that may inadvertently include elevated permissions within the VPN tunnel context.

You are affected if your SonicOS version is below any of the three specified thresholds AND SSL VPN tunnels are enabled with user accounts present, since the privilege escalation can occur for any authenticated VPN user.

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 latest SonicOS firmware update from SonicWall to address this vulnerability. Since this is post-authentication, ensure VPN credentials are properly managed and consider implementing least-privilege access controls for VPN users.

Recommended fix High confidence

SonicOS 7.0.1-5145 (or later), or SonicOS 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 (or later), or SonicOS 6.5.4.13-105n (or later)

  1. Identify the current SonicOS version running on the affected SonicWall device
  2. Determine which version branch the current installation falls into (7.x or 6.5.4.x)
  3. For 7.x branch: upgrade to version 7.0.1-5145 or later
  4. For 6.5.4.x branch: upgrade to version 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 or later, or alternatively 6.5.4.13-105n or later
  5. After upgrade, verify the new version is running and the SSL VPN Tunnel is functioning correctly

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

Fix this in Sonicos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-41715 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