CVE-2023-4538
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 · uneditedThe database access credentials configured during installation are stored in a special table, and are encrypted with a shared key, same among all Comarch ERP XL client installations. This could allow an attacker with access to that table to retrieve plain text passwords. This issue affects ERP XL: from 2020.2.2 through 2023.2.
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 confidenceComarch ERP XL stores database access credentials in a special database table, encrypted using a symmetric key that is identical across ALL client installations. An attacker with read access to that table can retrieve the encrypted credentials and decrypt them using the known shared key, obtaining plaintext database passwords.
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>= 2020.2.2, <= 2023.2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check Comarch ERP XL versionRetrieve the installed version of Comarch ERP XL from the system or application metadata and compare it to the affected rangeAffected if Version is >= 2020.2.2 and <= 2023.2
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Locate the credential storage tableIdentify the database table that stores encrypted database access credentials within the Comarch ERP XL databaseAffected if A table containing encrypted database credentials exists in the system
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Audit access permissions on credential tableQuery database permissions or examine access control lists to determine which users or roles can read the credential storage tableAffected if Users other than authorized administrators have SELECT or read access to the credential storage table
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Verify encryption key configurationExamine the encryption key configuration for the credential storage mechanism to determine if the default shared symmetric key is in useAffected if The default shared symmetric encryption key (identical across all installations) is still configured rather than a unique per-installation key
Environment is affected if running a vulnerable Comarch ERP XL version (2020.2.2 to 2023.2) AND the default shared encryption key is in use AND unauthorized users can read the credential storage table.
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 dataReplace the shared encryption key with unique per-installation keys, rotate all affected database credentials, and implement proper access controls on the credential storage table.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4538 — 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-2023-4538 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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- 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
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