VulnerabilityPublished 29 Aug 2023Updated 30 Oct 2025

CVE-2023-41265: Qlik Sense · HTTP Request/Response Smuggling

Affects Qlik SenseSource CVE Database V5

Exploited in the wild · used in ransomware campaigns · KEV due 28 Dec 2023 · public detection template (Nuclei) · 88% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to Qlik Sense now.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.6Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

KEV deadline: 28 Dec 2023 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
Ransomware: Used in ransomware campaigns
EPSS: 88.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:C/UI:N

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Network
Availability: None
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Privileges Required: Low
Scope: Changed
User Interaction: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Aug 2023
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: Qlik Sense Enterprise - HTTP Request Smuggling
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 100 days after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by MITRE Corporation
25 Aug 2023, 4 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
29 Aug 2023, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed · ransomware use known
7 Dec 2023, 100 days after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
28 Dec 2023, 121 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Apply remediations or mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if remediation or mitigations are unavailable.

Description

An HTTP Request Tunneling vulnerability found in Qlik Sense Enterprise for Windows for versions May 2023 Patch 3 and earlier, February 2023 Patch 7 and earlier, November 2022 Patch 10 and earlier, and August 2022 Patch 12 and earlier allows a remote attacker to elevate their privilege by tunneling HTTP requests in the raw HTTP request. This allows them to send requests that get executed by the backend server hosting the repository application. This is fixed in August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, and August 2022 Patch 13.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the widespread use of Qlik Sense Enterprise for data analytics and business intelligence across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, manipulation or deletion of critical business information, and disruption of analytics services. This can result in financial losses, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations), reputational damage, and operational downtime. Given the ability to elevate privileges remotely without user interaction, attackers could leverage this vulnerability as a foothold for further lateral movement within corporate networks. Organizations operating critical infrastructure or handling sensitive personal or commercial data are particularly at risk. The vulnerability's exploitation could also undermine trust in data-driven decision-making processes, impacting strategic operations.

Mitigation

1. Immediately apply the latest security patches released by Qlik for all affected versions, specifically the August 2023 IR, May 2023 Patch 4, February 2023 Patch 8, November 2022 Patch 11, and August 2022 Patch 13 or later. 2. Restrict network access to the Qlik Sense repository server by implementing strict firewall rules and network segmentation to limit exposure to trusted hosts only. 3. Enable and monitor detailed logging on the Qlik Sense server to detect unusual or malformed HTTP requests that may indicate tunneling attempts. 4. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on HTTP request handling and privilege escalation vectors within the Qlik environment. 5. Educate system administrators and security teams about this specific vulnerability and ensure incident response plans include detection and mitigation steps for HTTP request tunneling attacks. 6. Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious HTTP request patterns associated with tunneling. 7. Maintain an up-to-date asset inventory to quickly identify and remediate vulnerable Qlik Sense instances.

CWE-444Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product acts as an intermediary HTTP agent (such as a proxy or firewall) in the data flow between two entities such as a client and server, but it does not interpret malformed HTTP requests or responses in ways that are consistent with how the messages will be processed by those entities that are at the ultimate destination.
Implementation
Use a web server that employs a strict HTTP parsing procedure, such as Apache.
Implementation
Use only SSL communication.
Implementation
Terminate the client session after each request.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
Cross-Site Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.2.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
HTTP Response Smuggling (opens in a new tab)
HTTP Request Smuggling (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 31 Oct 2025, 04:38 UTC

Public exploits and detectiona Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-444

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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