CVE-2023-41971

Privilege escalation and DoS via upgrade link following

Published May 2, 2024 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Link following in Zscaler Client Connector before 3.7 for Windows allows local users to overwrite a system file during an upgrade. During the upgrade, RPC Control resolves a user-controlled link before privileged file access, redirecting the write to an attacker-selected system file. Low-privileged local access and a Client Connector upgrade are required; exploitation can elevate privileges or interrupt the endpoint.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Link following in Zscaler Client Connector before 3.7 for Windows allows local users to overwrite a system file during an upgrade. During the upgrade, RPC Control resolves a user-controlled link before privileged file access, redirecting the write to an attacker-selected system file. Low-privileged local access and a Client Connector upgrade are required; exploitation can elevate privileges or interrupt the endpoint.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-41971
Published
May 2, 2024
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Zscaler
Product
Zscaler Client Connector
Classifications
CWE-59, CAPEC-73, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <3.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Zscaler · Zscaler Client Connectorversion=0 <3.7

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.3ZscalerCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
CAPEC-73User-Controlled Filename
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo