CVE-2023-4487
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 · uneditedGE CIMPLICITY 2023 is by a process control vulnerability, which could allow a local attacker to insert malicious configuration files in the expected web server execution path to escalate privileges and gain full control of the HMI software.
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 confidenceGE CIMPLICITY 2023 HMI software contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where an attacker with local access can place malicious configuration files in the expected web server execution path, causing the application to load these files and execute with elevated privileges to gain full control of the HMI system.
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= 2023CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm GE CIMPLICITY 2023 installationCheck installed programs or registry for GE CIMPLICITY and retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 2023 (matches the affected version range)
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Locate CIMPLICITY web server directoriesSearch for the CIMPLICITY web server configuration path, typically found in the CIMPLICITY installation directory under a web or http folderAffected if The web server execution path exists and contains configuration files that can be modified by low-privilege users
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Inspect for unauthorized config filesList all configuration files in the web server path and check for any unexpected or recently added files that were not part of a legitimate deploymentAffected if Unexpected configuration files are present in the web server directory that could be malicious
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Check permissions on web server directoryReview file system permissions on the CIMPLICITY web server directory to determine if standard users have write access to itAffected if The directory permissions allow non-privileged users to write or modify files in the web server execution path
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Verify web server component statusCheck if the CIMPLICITY web server or related HTTP service is running on the systemAffected if The web server component is active and would load configuration files from the affected directory
A system is affected if it runs GE CIMPLICITY version 2023 with a writable web server configuration directory that could allow a local attacker to place malicious config files for privilege escalation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataRestrict physical and logical access to the CIMPLICITY server environment, implement file integrity monitoring on web server directories to detect unauthorized config file modifications, and apply vendor-provided patches when released.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4487 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4487 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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