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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 Feb 2025. Known ransomware use
Qlik SenseApplication · Qlik

CVE-2023-48365

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware Remotely reachable Zero-click

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
Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows before August 2023 Patch 2 allows unauthenticated remote code execution, aka QB-21683. Due to improper validation of HTTP headers, a remote attacker is able to elevate their privilege by tunneling HTTP requests, allowing them to execute HTTP requests on the backend server that hosts the repository application. The fixed versions are August 2023 Patch 2, May 2023 Patch 6, February 2023 Patch 10, November 2022 Patch 12, August 2022 Patch 14, May 2022 Patch 16, February 2022 Patch 15, and November 2021 Patch 17. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-41265.

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

Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows before specified patches contains an improper validation vulnerability in HTTP header handling. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can elevate privileges by tunneling HTTP requests through the vulnerable component, allowing arbitrary HTTP requests to be executed on the backend repository server. This leads to unauthenticated RCE. The vulnerability stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-41265.

MitigationApply the appropriate Qlik Sense patch for the installed version (August 2023 Patch 2, May 2023 Patch 6, or later per the version branch). If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the repository service and implement Web Application Firewall rules to filter malformed HTTP headers.

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
Qlik SenseApplication
Affected:= august_2022= august_2023= february_2022= february_2023= may_2022= may_2023= november_2021= november_2022

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify Qlik Sense installation
    Check for Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows by looking for the Qlik Sense installation directory, typically at C:\Program Files\Qlik\Sense\ or by querying Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Qlik for Sense installation info.
    Affected if Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed Qlik Sense version
    Open Qlik Management Console and navigate to About Qlik Sense, or check the version in the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Qlik\Sense\Repository\0\Version, or look at the version info in the SenseHub or QMC login page.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of: August 2022, August 2023, February 2022, February 2023, May 2022, May 2023, November 2021, or November 2022
  3. Verify repository service exposure
    Check if the Qlik Sense Repository Service (QRS) on port 4747 (or configured port) is accessible from untrusted networks. Review firewall rules and load balancer configurations to determine if the repository API is exposed to the internet or untrusted internal zones.
    Affected if The repository service port is accessible from untrusted networks without proper authentication barriers
  4. Inspect HTTP header handling configuration
    Review the Qlik Sense Proxy Service configuration files (specifically proxy.yml or similar configuration in the C:\Program Files\Qlik\Sense\Proxy\ folder) for any custom HTTP header validation rules or proxy pass-through settings.
    Affected if Custom header processing rules exist that bypass standard validation, or if the proxy allows arbitrary header forwarding to the repository
  5. Check for signs of tunneling activity
    Review Qlik Sense Repository Service logs (located in C:\Program Files\Qlik\Sense\Repository\Log) for unusual HTTP requests with abnormal headers, especially X-Forwarded-* headers or host header manipulation attempts targeting the internal repository API.
    Affected if Logs show requests with manipulated HTTP headers targeting the repository endpoint, or authentication anomalies indicating privilege escalation

A system is affected if Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows is installed with a version matching the affected list (August 2022, August 2023, February 2022, February 2023, May 2022, May 2023, November 2021, November 2022) AND the repository service is network-accessible, allowing unauthenticated HTTP header manipulation to reach the backend.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate Qlik Sense patch for the installed version (August 2023 Patch 2, May 2023 Patch 6, or later per the version branch). If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the repository service and implement Web Application Firewall rules to filter malformed HTTP headers.

Recommended fix High confidence

August 2023 Patch 2 (or earliest applicable patch version at or above current version)

  1. Identify the currently installed Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows version and patch level
  2. Determine the appropriate target patch version based on the fixed versions list (August 2023 Patch 2, May 2023 Patch 6, February 2023 Patch 10, November 2022 Patch 12, August 2022 Patch 14, May 2022 Patch 16, February 2022 Patch 15, or November 2021 Patch 17)
  3. Download the required patch or upgrade package from the official Qlik download portal or support site
  4. Back up the Qlik Sense repository database and configuration files
  5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
  6. Apply the upgrade following Qlik's standard upgrade procedures for Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows
  7. Verify the installation by checking the version and patch level after upgrade
  8. Test critical business workflows to ensure functionality is intact

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Qlik Sense Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-48365 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