CVE-2023-5913
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 · uneditedIncorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in opentext Fortify ScanCentral DAST. The vulnerability could be exploited to gain elevated privileges.This issue affects Fortify ScanCentral DAST versions 21.1, 21.2, 21.2.1, 22.1, 22.1.1, 22.2, 23.1.
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 confidenceAn Incorrect Privilege Assignment vulnerability in OpenText Fortify ScanCentral DAST allows authenticated or potentially unauthenticated attackers to gain elevated privileges beyond their assigned role, achieving unauthorized access to administrative or higher-privileged functions. This privilege escalation stems from improper permission handling in the application.
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= 21.1= 21.2= 21.2.1= 22.1= 22.1.1= 22.2= 23.1CVSS 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 ScanCentral DAST installation and versionLocate the Fortify ScanCentral DAST installation directory and check the version file or use the product's version command. Common locations include /opt/fortify/scancentral-dast or the application's about/status page.Affected if The installed version matches 21.1, 21.2, 21.2.1, 22.1, 22.1.1, 22.2, or 23.1 exactly.
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Verify authentication configurationExamine the ScanCentral DAST configuration files (typically in conf/ directory) for authentication settings. Check if form-based authentication, LDAP, or SAML integration is properly configured with role mapping.Affected if Authentication is configured but role-based access control (RBAC) mapping is incomplete or misconfigured.
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Review user role assignments in the database or user storeQuery the user repository (database or LDAP) to list all user accounts and their assigned roles. Look for any accounts with administrative or elevated privileges that should not have them based on organizational role definitions.Affected if Users possess higher-privileged roles (administrator, superuser) that were not explicitly assigned or that exceed their intended organizational access level.
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Check for unauthorized administrative accountsSearch the user management interface or user database for unexpected accounts with administrator-level permissions, especially accounts created recently or with generic names.Affected if There exist administrative accounts that were not created by authorized administrators or that cannot be traced to legitimate administrative actions.
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Inspect audit logs for privilege escalation eventsReview ScanCentral DAST audit and access logs for commands or actions performed by standard users that resulted in administrative operations, or for permission modification events.Affected if Logs show standard users performing administrative actions, or there are records of permission changes that were not initiated by known administrators.
A user is affected if Fortify ScanCentral DAST version 21.1 through 23.1 is running AND there are user accounts with privileges beyond what was intentionally assigned, or unauthorized administrative access has occurred.
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 · scopedUpgrade Fortify ScanCentral DAST to a version beyond 23.1 that contains the security patch for this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to the DAST interface and enforce strict access controls until the patch can be applied.
Fortify ScanCentral DAST 23.2 or later
- 1. Identify the currently installed Fortify ScanCentral DAST version using the product's built-in version check or documentation.
- 2. Review the upgrade path and ensure compatibility with existing infrastructure and dependencies.
- 3. Download Fortify ScanCentral DAST version 23.2 or later from the official Micro Focus/OpenText portal.
- 4. Before upgrading, back up all existing configurations, databases, and custom settings.
- 5. Execute the upgrade following the official installation/upgrade guide for Fortify ScanCentral DAST.
- 6. After upgrade, verify that the service starts correctly and all components are functioning.
- 7. Validate that the elevated privileges vulnerability is resolved by confirming the privilege assignment configuration is correct.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-5913 — 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-2023-5913 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
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