CVE-2023-45849
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 · uneditedAn arbitrary code execution which results in privilege escalation was discovered in Helix Core versions prior to 2023.2. Reported by Jason Geffner.
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 confidenceArbitrary code execution vulnerability in Helix Core (Perforce) versions prior to 2023.2 allows attackers to execute code on the target system, potentially leading to full system compromise through privilege escalation.
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< 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Check if Helix Core server is installedRun 'p4d -V' or 'p4 -V' to see if the Perforce command-line tools are available. If not found, Helix Core may not be installed.Affected if p4d or p4 commands are not found, meaning Helix Core is likely not installed on this system.
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Identify the installed Helix Core versionRun 'p4d -V' to display the version number. Look for a line like 'Perforce - The Fast Software Configuration Management System.' followed by version details.Affected if The command returns no output or an error, indicating Helix Core is not present.
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Compare version to the affected rangeExtract the version number from the output (for example, 2023.1, 2022.2, etc.) and compare it to 2023.2. Versions are typically in the format YYYY.N where the first four digits represent the year.Affected if The installed version is less than 2023.2 (for example, 2023.1, 2022.2, 2022.1, etc.).
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Verify the p4d server process is runningCheck for running processes with 'ps aux | grep p4d' on Linux/Unix or check Windows Services for 'Perforce Helix Core' service.Affected if The p4d process is running and the version is below 2023.2.
The environment is affected if Helix Core (p4d) is installed and the running version is any release prior to 2023.2.
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.
dbcve · scoped2023.2
Upgrade Helix Core to version 2023.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
Helix Core 2023.2
- Verify current Helix Core version using 'p4 info' or 'p4d -V'
- Backup all configuration files, depot data, and license files
- Review Perforce upgrade documentation for your platform
- Download Helix Core 2023.2 or later from perforce.com/downloads/
- Stop the Perforce service using 'p4 admin stop' or platform-specific service command
- Install the new version following Perforce installation guides
- Start the Perforce service
- Verify upgrade was successful by checking version with 'p4d -V'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-45849 — 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-2023-45849 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