dbcve.org
Clearpass Policy ManagerApplication · Arubanetworks

CVE-2023-43507

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.9.13 / 6.10.8 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
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of ClearPass Policy Manager could allow an authenticated remote attacker to conduct SQL injection attacks against the ClearPass Policy Manager instance. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain and modify sensitive information in the underlying database potentially leading to complete compromise of the ClearPass Policy Manager cluster.

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

SQL injection vulnerability in ClearPass Policy Manager's web-based management interface allows authenticated remote attackers to inject malicious SQL queries into the underlying database, potentially leading to full cluster compromise through unauthorized data access or modification.

MitigationApply vendor security patches when available; until then, restrict access to the web-based management interface to only trusted, authorized personnel and monitor for suspicious SQL patterns in logs.

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
Clearpass Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:< 6.9.13>= 6.10.0, < 6.10.8>= 6.11.0, <= 6.11.4= 6.9.13= 6.10.8

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 installed ClearPass Policy Manager version
    Access the ClearPass web UI and navigate to Administration > About, or run CLI command 'show version' to retrieve the exact software version number
    Affected if The installed version falls within < 6.9.13, 6.10.0-6.10.7, 6.11.0-6.11.4, or equals 6.9.13 or 6.10.8
  2. Verify web-based management interface is enabled
    Check if the ClearPass web administration interface (CPPM) is accessible on ports 443 or 8080 by attempting to reach https://<hostname>/tips
    Affected if The web management interface is exposed and reachable
  3. Confirm admin authentication is configured
    Review authentication settings under Configuration > Authentication > Local Authentication or external auth sources to determine if user accounts exist with web UI access
    Affected if User accounts with web interface access are present in the system
  4. Inspect logs for suspicious SQL patterns
    Review ClearPass logs under Troubleshooting > View Logs > Audit or check /var/log/ClearPass-Portal.log for SQL keywords like UNION, SELECT, INSERT, DROP, or apostrophe patterns in query parameters
    Affected if Unusual SQL syntax or injection patterns appear in recent audit logs

Your environment is affected if you run a version of ClearPass Policy Manager within the affected ranges AND the web-based management interface with authenticated access is enabled.

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 6.9.13 / 6.10.8 or later
Fixed in 6.9.136.10.8
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor security patches when available; until then, restrict access to the web-based management interface to only trusted, authorized personnel and monitor for suspicious SQL patterns in logs.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

6.9.13 or later for 6.9.x branch; 6.10.8 or later for 6.10.x branch; 6.11.5 or later for 6.11.x branch (or latest stable release)

  1. 1. Back up the ClearPass Policy Manager configuration before initiating any upgrade.
  2. 2. Review the current installed version by navigating to Administration > About in the ClearPass web interface.
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from the Aruba Support Portal or authorized distribution channel.
  4. 4. For versions < 6.9.13: upgrade to 6.9.13 or later.
  5. 5. For versions >= 6.10.0 and < 6.10.8: upgrade to 6.10.8 or later.
  6. 6. For versions >= 6.11.0 and <= 6.11.4: upgrade to 6.11.5 or later (or the latest stable 6.11.x release).
  7. 7. Apply the upgrade through the ClearPass Policy Manager web interface or CLI following Aruba's documented upgrade procedure.
  8. 8. Verify the upgrade was successful and confirm the new version number.
Caveat Upgrades between major version branches may require careful planning; review Aruba upgrade documentation for cluster upgrades and compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Clearpass Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-43507 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-43507 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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