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4dApplication

CVE-2023-4770

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
An uncontrolled search path element vulnerability has been found on 4D and 4D server Windows executables applications, affecting version 19 R8 100218. This vulnerability consists in a DLL hijacking by replacing x64 shfolder.dll in the installation path, causing an arbitrary code execution.

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

A DLL hijacking vulnerability in 4D and 4D Server Windows applications (version 19 R8 100218) allows attackers to place a malicious x64 shfolder.dll in the installation directory. The application loads this DLL due to an uncontrolled search path, enabling arbitrary code execution with the application's privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch when released; in the interim, restrict write permissions on the installation directory to prevent unauthorized DLL placement and monitor for suspicious DLL files.

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
4dApplication
Affected:= 19
ServerApplication
Affected:= 19

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Confirm you are running 4D or 4D Server on Windows
    Check if the 4D application is running on a Windows operating system. This vulnerability only affects Windows installations of 4D products.
    Affected if The 4D application runs on Windows and the operating system is not otherwise protected.
  2. Identify your installed 4D version
    Locate the 4D or 4D Server executable (typically in Program Files or a custom installation directory), right-click the executable, select Properties, and check the File Version or Product Version field. Compare against version 19 R8 (build 100218).
    Affected if The installed version is 19 R8 build 100218 or earlier versions of 19.
  3. Verify write permissions on the 4D installation directory
    Right-click the 4D installation folder, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and review which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Ensure only trusted administrators have write access.
    Affected if Non-administrative users or groups have Write or Modify permissions to the installation directory, allowing them to place a malicious DLL.
  4. Inspect installation directory for suspicious shfolder.dll
    Open the 4D installation directory and look for any file named shfolder.dll that you did not install. Check the file properties to see if it is a legitimate Microsoft DLL or an unauthorized file.
    Affected if An unexpected shfolder.dll file exists in the installation directory, especially if it was not placed there by Microsoft or your IT department.
  5. Review DLL search order behavior
    Monitor or inspect how the 4D application loads DLLs by using process monitoring tools (such as Process Monitor from Sysinternals) to see if the application attempts to load DLLs from the current working directory before system directories.
    Affected if The application loads DLLs from its installation directory without fully qualified paths, indicating an uncontrolled search path vulnerability.

You are affected if you run 4D or 4D Server version 19 on Windows with writable installation directory permissions and the application loads DLLs from its directory without strict path control.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch when released; in the interim, restrict write permissions on the installation directory to prevent unauthorized DLL placement and monitor for suspicious DLL files.

Fix this in 4d Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4770 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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