CVE-2023-49943
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 · uneditedZoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus MSP before 14504 allows stored XSS (by a low-privileged technician) via a task's name in a time sheet.
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 confidenceZoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus MSP versions before 14504 contain a stored XSS vulnerability. A low-privileged technician can embed malicious JavaScript into a task name within a timesheet. When other users view this timesheet, the injected script executes in their browser context, potentially allowing session hijacking or credential theft.
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< 14.5= 14.5CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Identify installed ServiceDesk Plus MSP versionLog into the admin console as administrator and navigate to the About or Version section (typically under Admin > Applications > General Settings > About). Alternatively, check the build number in the installation directory or startup logs.Affected if version is 14.5.x or earlier (including all versions below 14.5.04)
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Confirm timesheet module is enabledNavigate to Admin > Settings > Technician Settings or Timesheet Settings in the ServiceDesk Plus MSP admin interface. Verify if the 'Timesheet' or 'Time Tracking' feature is turned ON for technicians.Affected if timesheet functionality is enabled for technicians
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Identify low-privileged technician accountsGo to Admin > Technicians or User Management section. Review technician accounts and their assigned roles. Look for technicians with limited/standard roles (not Administrator) who have access to timesheet functionality.Affected if any low-privileged technician accounts exist with timesheet access
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Inspect existing timesheet entries for suspicious task namesAccess the Timesheet or Time Entry module. Browse through recent timesheet submissions. Manually inspect the 'Task Name' or 'Description' fields for unusual characters such as <script>, javascript:, onerror=, onload=, or encoded equivalents.Affected if any timesheet entries contain potential XSS payloads in task name fields
You are affected if running ServiceDesk Plus MSP version 14.5.04 or earlier AND the timesheet feature is enabled with at least one technician account that can create or modify timesheet entries.
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 · scoped14.5
Upgrade to ServiceDesk Plus MSP version 14504 or later which implements proper input validation and output encoding for task names in timesheets. Until patched, restrict and monitor low-privileged technician access to timesheet functionality.
14504
- Backup your current ServiceDesk Plus MSP installation and database before proceeding
- Download ServiceDesk Plus MSP version 14504 or later from the official ManageEngine download portal
- Review ManageEngine's upgrade documentation for version 14504
- Execute the upgrade following the standard upgrade procedure for your deployment type (standalone or cluster)
- After upgrade, verify the XSS vulnerability is resolved by confirming the timesheet task name field properly sanitizes input
- Confirm all technician accounts can still access timesheet functionality post-upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-49943 — 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-2023-49943 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data