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Incorrect Default PermissionsWeakness · CWE-276

CVE-2023-42133

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
PAX Android based POS devices allow for escalation of privilege via improperly configured scripts. An attacker must have shell access with system account privileges in order to exploit this vulnerability. A patch addressing this issue was included in firmware version PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226.

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

This vulnerability allows privilege escalation on PAX Android-based point-of-sale (POS) devices through improperly configured scripts. An attacker with existing shell access and system account privileges can exploit these misconfigured scripts to gain elevated (likely root) access to the device. The issue is specific to the PayDroid firmware running on PAX POS terminals.

MitigationOrganizations should identify all affected PAX POS devices in their environment and update them to the patched firmware version PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226 or later. Until the firmware update can be applied, restrict physical and network access to these devices to prevent attackers from obtaining the required system-level shell access.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Identify if the device is a PAX POS terminal
    Check the device model information via Settings > About Phone > Model Number, or run 'getprop ro.product.model' in shell. Look for PAX terminal model identifiers.
    Affected if The device is a PAX Android-based POS terminal running PayDroid firmware.
  2. Determine the PayDroid firmware version
    Run 'getprop ro.build.display.id' or check Settings > About Phone > Android version to retrieve the firmware build. Compare against the patched version PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226.
    Affected if The firmware version is earlier than PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226.
  3. Check for misconfigured system scripts with elevated permissions
    In shell, search for scripts in /system/bin/, /system/sbin/, or /vendor/bin/ that are world-writable or have SUID/SGID bits set. Run 'find /system -type f -name *.sh -perm -4000 2>/dev/null' and 'ls -la /system/bin/*.sh' to identify scripts with improper permissions.
    Affected if Scripts exist with world-writable permissions or unusual SUID/SGID configurations that could be exploited for privilege escalation.
  4. Verify if shell access interfaces are enabled
    Check if ADB is enabled (run 'getprop persist.service.adb.enable' or check Developer Options), or if telnet/ssh services are running on common ports. Run 'netstat -an | grep -E ':5555|:23|:22'' to check for exposed interfaces.
    Affected if ADB debugging, telnet, or SSH services are exposed and accessible, providing the shell access pathway required for exploitation.

A PAX POS device running PayDroid firmware versions earlier than 11.1.61_20240226 with exposed shell access interfaces and misconfigured scripts is vulnerable to privilege escalation via this CVE.

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

Organizations should identify all affected PAX POS devices in their environment and update them to the patched firmware version PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226 or later. Until the firmware update can be applied, restrict physical and network access to these devices to prevent attackers from obtaining the required system-level shell access.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226 or later

  1. Identify the specific PAX Android POS device model requiring update
  2. Check the current firmware version installed on the device
  3. Obtain the fixed firmware version PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.61_20240226 or later from official PAX sources
  4. Follow PAX's standard firmware update procedure to apply the patch
  5. Verify the firmware was applied successfully and the device is running the patched version
  6. Ensure the device is not exposed to untrusted networks to reduce attack surface
Caveat Firmware updates on POS devices may require downtime and should be tested in a staging environment before production deployment

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-42133 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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