CVE-2023-49238
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 · uneditedIn Gradle Enterprise before 2023.1, a remote attacker may be able to gain access to a new installation (in certain installation scenarios) because of a non-unique initial system user password. Although this password must be changed upon the first login, it is possible that an attacker logs in before the legitimate administrator logs in.
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 confidenceGradle Enterprise versions before 2023.1 contain a non-unique initial system user password for new installations in certain scenarios. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this default credential to gain administrative access to the system before the legitimate administrator logs in and changes the password.
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< 2023.1CVSS 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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Identify Gradle Enterprise versionLocate the installed Gradle Enterprise version through the admin UI, startup logs, or system information (typically accessible via the web interface or in installation directories)Affected if The installed version is any release before 2023.1 (e.g., 2022.x, 2021.x, earlier)
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Determine if this is a fresh installationCheck installation date or review whether the initial administrator account has ever been configured. The vulnerability affects new installations where the first login has not yet occurredAffected if The system was newly installed and the initial administrator password has never been changed from the default
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Verify initial password was changedAttempt to confirm whether the default administrator password has been rotated. Check admin user management settings or authentication configuration to verify a non-default password is in useAffected if The default initial password remains unchanged, leaving the system vulnerable to the documented default credential attack
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Review admin access logsInspect authentication and administrative access logs for any unauthorized administrative logins from external sources that occurred before the legitimate administrator first accessed the systemAffected if Unknown or unexpected administrative login events appear in logs prior to your first admin login
You are affected if Gradle Enterprise version is below 2023.1 AND the system is (or was) a new installation where the initial administrator password was never changed from its default value, or if evidence of unauthorized admin access exists in logs.
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 · scoped2023.1
Immediately change the initial administrator password upon first login; audit access logs for any unauthorized administrative access and rotate credentials as a precautionary measure.
Gradle Enterprise 2023.1 or later
- Back up the current Gradle Enterprise installation and all data
- Plan for downtime during the upgrade process
- Upgrade to Gradle Enterprise 2023.1 or later
- After upgrade, immediately log in and change the initial system user password
- Verify the upgrade was successful and the new password policy is in effect
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-49238 — 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-2023-49238 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
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