CVE-2023-23632 is a vulnerability identified in BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access (PRA) versions 22.2.x through 22.4.x. The vulnerability stems from a flawed secret verification mechanism within the BYOT (Bring Your Own Terminal) shell jump sessions. Specifically, the verification process allows an attacker to bypass authentication by correctly guessing only the first character of the secret used to protect jump items. Jump items are critical components in PRA that store credentials and connection details for privileged access to target systems. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker with local access to the PRA environment can gain unauthorized access to these jump items, effectively bypassing intended authentication controls. This bypass does not require full knowledge of the secret or credentials, significantly lowering the barrier to unauthorized access. The vulnerability is local in nature, meaning the attacker must have some level of access to the PRA system or environment to attempt the attack. No public exploits or widespread attacks have been reported to date. The absence of a CVSS score indicates that the vulnerability is newly disclosed and pending formal severity assessment. However, the nature of the flaw—authentication bypass to privileged resources—indicates a serious security risk. The vulnerability compromises confidentiality and integrity by exposing sensitive privileged access credentials and potentially enabling lateral movement or privilege escalation within an organization’s network. BeyondTrust PRA is widely used in enterprise environments for privileged access management, making this vulnerability relevant to organizations that rely on it for securing administrative access to critical systems.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the security of privileged access management systems. Unauthorized access to jump items can lead to exposure of sensitive credentials and administrative access to critical infrastructure, increasing the risk of data breaches, insider threats, and lateral movement by attackers. Organizations in sectors such as finance, energy, telecommunications, and government are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on privileged access solutions like BeyondTrust PRA. The local nature of the exploit means that insider threats or attackers who have already gained limited access could escalate their privileges without detection. This could undermine compliance with European data protection regulations such as GDPR, which mandate strict controls over access to sensitive data. Additionally, the exposure of privileged credentials could facilitate ransomware attacks or espionage campaigns targeting European critical infrastructure. The lack of known exploits in the wild provides a window for proactive mitigation, but organizations must act swiftly to prevent potential exploitation.

To mitigate CVE-2023-23632, European organizations should immediately identify and inventory all deployments of BeyondTrust PRA versions 22.2.x through 22.4.x. Although no official patches are listed, organizations should monitor BeyondTrust advisories for updates or hotfixes addressing this vulnerability. In the interim, restrict local access to PRA management consoles and servers to trusted administrators only, employing strict access controls and network segmentation. Implement enhanced monitoring and logging of jump item access to detect unusual or unauthorized activity. Consider enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for access to PRA systems to add an additional layer of security beyond the vulnerable secret verification. Review and rotate all jump item credentials to limit exposure if compromise occurs. Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on privileged access management systems. Finally, educate administrators and security teams about the vulnerability and the importance of limiting local access to PRA environments.