CVE-2023-44217

Local privilege escalation via MSI repair misconfiguration

Published Oct 3, 2023 · Updated Sep 20, 2024

Privilege escalation in SonicWall NetExtender 10.2.336 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through MSI repair. The Windows MSI package misconfigures its repair operation, which runs installer-controlled actions with SYSTEM privileges. A low-privileged local account must invoke repair; SonicWall has not disclosed the specific MSI permission or repair action enabling elevation.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in SonicWall NetExtender 10.2.336 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through MSI repair. The Windows MSI package misconfigures its repair operation, which runs installer-controlled actions with SYSTEM privileges. A low-privileged local account must invoke repair; SonicWall has not disclosed the specific MSI permission or repair action enabling elevation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-44217
Published
Oct 3, 2023
Updated
Sep 20, 2024
Vendor
SonicWall
Product
NetExtender
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 3, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 20, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=10.2.336
  2. Affected versionversion=10.2.336 and earlier versions

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

SonicWall · NetExtenderversion=0 <=10.2.336; version=10.2.336 and earlier versions

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
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

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Your stack

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