CVE-2023-4996
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 · uneditedNetskope was made aware of a security vulnerability in its NSClient product for version 100 & prior where a malicious non-admin user can disable the Netskope client by using a specially-crafted package. The root cause of the problem was a user control code when called by a Windows ServiceController did not validate the permissions associated with the user before executing the user control code. This user control code had permissions to terminate the NSClient service.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Netskope NSClient (version 100 and prior) allows a malicious non-admin user to terminate the NSClient service via a specially-crafted package. The root cause is a Windows ServiceController user control code path that fails to validate user permissions before executing service control operations, granting unprivileged users the ability to stop the client service.
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< 101CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check installed Netskope NSClient versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Netskope\NSClient or check Add/Remove Programs for Netskope NSClient versionAffected if Version is 100 or lower (versions prior to 101 are affected)
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Verify NSClient Windows service existsOpen Services console (services.msc) and locate the 'Netskope NSClient' service, or run: sc query NSClientAffected if The service exists and is running on the system
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Check service permissions configurationRun: sc sdshow NSClient (displays the Security Descriptor Definition Language) or check via PowerShell Get-Service -Name NSClient | Get-SddlAffected if Non-admin users have SERVICE_STOP or SERVICE_CONTROL permissions (look for (A;;CCDCSW;;;BU) or similar allowing built-in users group)
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Identify non-admin users on the systemRun 'net user' or check Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) to enumerate user accounts with access to the systemAffected if There are non-admin user accounts present on the system
A system is affected if Netskope NSClient version 100 or prior is installed AND non-admin users exist who could exploit the ServiceController permission gap to stop the service.
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 · scoped101
Upgrade Netskope NSClient to a version newer than 100 (or apply vendor-supplied patches) which includes proper permission validation before allowing service control operations. Until patched, restrict user access to prevent unprivileged users from manipulating Windows services.
Version 101
- Upgrade Netskope NSClient to version 101 or later to resolve the permission validation vulnerability
- Verify the upgrade by confirming the NSClient service remains active and cannot be terminated by non-admin users
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4996 — 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-2023-4996 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