dbcve.org
VagrantApplication · Hashicorp

CVE-2023-5834

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
HashiCorp Vagrant's Windows installer targeted a custom location with a non-protected path that could be junctioned, introducing potential for unauthorized file system writes. Fixed in Vagrant 2.4.0.

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 confidence

HashiCorp Vagrant's Windows installer targets a custom location using a non-protected filesystem path that can be manipulated through Windows junction points (similar to symlinks). An attacker with local access could create a junction at the target path to redirect file writes to unintended locations, achieving arbitrary file system writes with installer privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to Vagrant 2.4.0 or later. Until upgraded, avoid using custom installation paths on Windows and ensure the installation target directory is secured against local attackers.

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
VagrantApplication
Affected:< 2.4.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Vagrant is installed on Windows
    Run 'vagrant --version' in Command Prompt or PowerShell, or check Program Files for Vagrant installation.
    Affected if Vagrant is installed and the version is below 2.4.0
  2. Identify the Vagrant installation path
    Check the registry key 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Vagrant' for InstallLocation, or inspect the directory where Vagrant is installed.
    Affected if Vagrant was installed to a custom non-default location (not the default 'C:\Program Files\Vagrant')
  3. Verify the installation target directory permissions
    Right-click the installation target folder in Windows Explorer, go to Properties > Security, and check who has Write or Full Control permissions.
    Affected if Non-privileged users have Write or Full Control permissions to the installation target directory, allowing them to create junction points
  4. Check for junction points in the installation path
    Run 'fsutil junction query <installation_path>' in Command Prompt to check if the path is a junction point.
    Affected if The installation path itself is a junction point (indicating manipulation)
  5. Review installation logs for custom paths
    Check Windows Installer logs in %TEMP% for MSI installation logs containing 'CustomAction=InstallFinalize' and look for custom target paths.
    Affected if Logs show a custom installation target path was used during setup

A user is affected if Vagrant version is below 2.4.0 AND was installed to a custom (non-default) path on Windows, with insufficient permissions protecting that path from local attackers.

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 2.4.0 or later
Fixed in 2.4.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Vagrant 2.4.0 or later. Until upgraded, avoid using custom installation paths on Windows and ensure the installation target directory is secured against local attackers.

Recommended fix High confidence

Vagrant 2.4.0

  1. Back up any existing Vagrantfiles, plugins, and custom configurations
  2. Download Vagrant 2.4.0 from the official HashiCorp downloads page (https://www.vagrantup.com/downloads)
  3. Verify the downloaded installer checksum matches the published hash
  4. Uninstall the current version of Vagrant from Windows via Add or Remove Programs
  5. Run the Vagrant 2.4.0 installer with administrator privileges
  6. After installation, verify the version by running 'vagrant --version' to confirm 2.4.0 is installed
  7. Test that existing Vagrantfiles work as expected with the new version

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

Fix this in Vagrant Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-5834 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