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CVE-2023-38743: n/a in n/a

High
VulnerabilityCVE-2023-38743cvecve-2023-38743
Published: Mon Sep 11 2023 (09/11/2023, 00:00:00 UTC)
Source: CVE
Vendor/Project: n/a
Product: n/a

Description

Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus before Build 7200 allows admin users to execute commands on the host machine.

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 07/03/2025, 13:26:11 UTC

Technical Analysis

CVE-2023-38743 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus versions prior to Build 7200. This vulnerability allows users with administrative privileges within the application to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host operating system. The flaw arises because the application fails to properly restrict or sanitize command execution capabilities available to admin users, enabling them to run system-level commands beyond intended management operations. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 reflects the vulnerability's network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requirement for high privileges (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). Although exploitation requires administrative access to the application, the ability to execute arbitrary commands on the host can lead to full system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of services. No public exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk in environments where ADManager Plus is deployed and admin credentials could be compromised or misused. The lack of a vendor patch link in the provided data suggests that remediation may require close monitoring of vendor advisories or applying recommended security best practices until an official fix is released.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a critical risk especially for enterprises relying on Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus for Active Directory management and automation. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized command execution on critical infrastructure servers, potentially compromising sensitive personal data protected under GDPR, disrupting identity and access management processes, and causing operational downtime. Given the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, move laterally within networks, and deploy ransomware or data theft campaigns. The risk is amplified in sectors with stringent compliance requirements such as finance, healthcare, and government institutions prevalent across Europe. Additionally, the centralized nature of ADManager Plus in managing user accounts and permissions means that compromise could affect large portions of an organization's IT environment, leading to widespread security incidents.

Mitigation Recommendations

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Restrict administrative access to ADManager Plus strictly on a need-to-know basis and enforce strong multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise. 2) Monitor and audit all administrative activities within ADManager Plus for unusual command execution or privilege escalations. 3) Isolate the ADManager Plus server within a segmented network zone with limited access to reduce the attack surface. 4) Apply principle of least privilege to the underlying host system accounts used by ADManager Plus to limit the impact of command execution. 5) Regularly check for vendor updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 6) Employ host-based intrusion detection and endpoint protection solutions to detect anomalous command executions or lateral movement attempts. 7) Conduct security awareness training for administrators to recognize phishing or social engineering attempts that could lead to credential theft. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on access control, monitoring, and containment strategies specific to the nature of this vulnerability.

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Technical Details

Data Version
5.1
Assigner Short Name
mitre
Date Reserved
2023-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
Cisa Enriched
true
Cvss Version
3.1
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 682d981fc4522896dcbdc816

Added to database: 5/21/2025, 9:08:47 AM

Last enriched: 7/3/2025, 1:26:11 PM

Last updated: 7/30/2025, 5:01:45 PM

Views: 11

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