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ZonecentralApplication · Primx

CVE-2023-50441

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2023.5 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Encrypted folders created by PRIMX ZONECENTRAL for Windows before Q.2021.2 (ANSSI qualification submission) or ZONECENTRAL for Windows before 2023.5 can be modified by an unauthenticated attacker to include a UNC reference so that it could trigger outbound network traffic from computers on which folders are opened.

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

PRIMX ZONECENTRAL for Windows fails to properly validate or protect encrypted folder metadata, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject a UNC path reference into modified encrypted folders. When legitimate users subsequently open these tampered folders, the application automatically initiates outbound SMB/network connections to the attacker-specified UNC path, enabling potential NTLM relay attacks, credential theft, or data exfiltration.

MitigationUpgrade PRIMX ZONECENTRAL to version Q.2021.2 (ANSSI-qualified) or 2023.5 or later to receive the vendor patch that prevents UNC reference injection into encrypted folder metadata.

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
ZonecentralApplication
Affected:< q.2021.2>= 2023.0, < 2023.5

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm PRIMX ZONECentral installation
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*ZoneCentral*"}' in PowerShell to locate the installed product.
    Affected if PRIMX ZONECentral appears in the installed programs list.
  2. Identify installed version
    In Programs and Features, click on PRIMX ZONECentral to view the version, or check the executable properties at the installation path (typically C:\Program Files\PRIMX\ZoneCentral\ZoneCentral.exe) by right-clicking and viewing Details.
    Affected if The version is either less than q.2021.2, or falls between 2023.0 and 2023.5 (inclusive of 2023.0 but less than 2023.5).
  3. Determine if encrypted folders exist
    Open the PRIMX ZONECentral client interface and review the list of managed encrypted folders, or check for ZoneCentral metadata files in folders (typically .zonecentral or similar metadata files stored alongside encrypted content).
    Affected if Any encrypted folders are present in the ZoneCentral management console.
  4. Inspect encrypted folder metadata for UNC paths
    Using a hex editor or PowerShell, examine the metadata files associated with encrypted folders (check file contents in the folder's ZoneCentral metadata storage location) for suspicious UNC path patterns such as \\ or http:// prefixes in fields that should contain local paths only.
    Affected if Any UNC path references (\\server\share format) are found within encrypted folder metadata files.

A user is affected if PRIMX ZONECentral is installed with a version in the vulnerable range (< q.2021.2 or >= 2023.0 and < 2023.5) AND encrypted folders are configured, as the vulnerability requires encrypted folder metadata to be present for UNC injection to occur.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2023.5 or later
Fixed in 2023.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PRIMX ZONECENTRAL to version Q.2021.2 (ANSSI-qualified) or 2023.5 or later to receive the vendor patch that prevents UNC reference injection into encrypted folder metadata.

Recommended fix High confidence

2023.5 (or Q.2021.2 for the older branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current PRIMX ZONECENTRAL for Windows version installed in the environment
  2. 2. If the installed version is before Q.2021.2 (e.g., any version prior to the Q.2021.2 release), plan an upgrade to version Q.2021.2 or later
  3. 3. If the installed version is 2023.0 through 2023.4.x, plan an upgrade to version 2023.5 or later
  4. 4. Download the fixed version from the official PRIMX vendor (www.primx.eu)
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
  6. 6. Apply the upgrade to production systems following standard change management procedures
  7. 7. Verify that encrypted folders no longer accept unauthorized modifications containing UNC paths

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

Fix this in Zonecentral Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2023-50441 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