CVE-2023-4768
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 · uneditedA CRLF injection vulnerability has been found in ManageEngine Desktop Central affecting version 9.1.0. This vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and perform HTTP response splitting attacks via the fileName parameter in /STATE_ID/1613157927228/InvSWMetering.pdf.
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 confidenceA CRLF injection vulnerability in ManageEngine Desktop Central v9.1.0 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers via the fileName parameter in the /STATE_ID/1613157927228/InvSWMetering.pdf endpoint. This enables HTTP response splitting attacks where malicious headers can be inserted into server responses.
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= 9.1.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Confirm ManageEngine Desktop Central installation and versionLocate the Desktop Central installation directory and check version.txt or look at the startup/console page for the version number. Common paths include C:\ManageEngine\DesktopCentral\ or /opt/DesktopCentral/Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.1.0
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Verify the vulnerable endpoint is exposedCheck if the web server responds to requests at /STATE_ID/*/InvSWMetering.pdf. Attempt a basic HTTP request to this endpoint pattern using curl or a browserAffected if The endpoint is accessible and returns a valid HTTP response
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Test fileName parameter for CRLF injection susceptibilitySend a crafted request to the endpoint with a fileName parameter containing CRLF sequences (%0D%0A or literal \r\n). Example: /STATE_ID/123/InvSWMetering.pdf?fileName=test%0D%0AInjected-Header: valueAffected if The server reflects the CRLF sequences in its response without sanitization, allowing header injection
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Inspect HTTP response headers for injectionCapture the full HTTP response headers from requests to the vulnerable endpoint. Compare headers before and after injecting CRLF sequences in the fileName parameterAffected if Injected headers appear in the server response, confirming the response splitting vulnerability
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Review access logs for CRLF injection attemptsExamine Desktop Central access logs (typically in logs/ or __MCP_DONE__/ directory) for entries containing %0D%0A or similar URL-encoded CRLF sequences in the fileName parameterAffected if Evidence of CRLF injection attempts in log files indicates active targeting
A user is affected if they are running ManageEngine Desktop Central version 9.1.0 and the InvSWMetering.pdf endpoint with the fileName parameter accepts and reflects unsanitized CRLF sequences in HTTP responses.
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 dataImplement strict input validation to reject any CRLF sequences (%0D%0A) in the fileName parameter, or upgrade to a patched version if released by ManageEngine.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4768 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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