Skip to main content
CVE-2023-53908VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2023-53908: Belden HiSecOS · Improper Privilege Management

Affects Belden HiSecOSSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
8.7High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 27% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 17 Dec 2025

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Belden HiSecOSAffected
  • =04.0.01
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Immediately restrict access to the NETCONF interface, especially the /mops_data endpoint, to trusted management networks only, using network segmentation and firewall rules. 2. Implement strict authentication and authorization controls for all users accessing HiSecOS devices, ensuring that only necessary personnel have access. 3. Monitor NETCONF configuration changes and logs for unusual or unauthorized role modifications, employing anomaly detection where possible. 4. Deploy intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) tuned to detect suspicious XML payloads targeting NETCONF endpoints. 5. Engage with Belden support to obtain and apply official patches or firmware updates addressing CVE-2023-53908 as soon as they become available. 6. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on industrial network devices to identify and remediate privilege escalation risks. 7. Educate operational staff about the risks of privilege escalation and enforce the principle of least privilege across all device accounts. 8. Consider implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for device management interfaces if supported.

Description

HiSecOS 04.0.01 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated users to modify their access role through XML-based NETCONF configuration. Attackers can send crafted XML payloads to the /mops_data endpoint with a specific role value to elevate their user privileges to administrative level.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…