VulnerabilityPublished 22 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-53962: SOUND4 Impact/Pulse/First · Path Traversal

Affects SOUND4 Impact/Pulse/FirstSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

8.8High

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

EPSS: 1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 68% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: High
Vulnerable system availability: Low
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, 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).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system 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 vulnerable system. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the Vulnerable System are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SOUND4 Ltd. Impact/Pulse/First	Affected =1.1 =2.15	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediately restrict network access to the upload.cgi interface by implementing network segmentation and firewall rules limiting access to trusted IP addresses only.
Deploy web application firewalls (WAFs) or intrusion prevention systems (IPS) configured to detect and block directory traversal sequences in HTTP requests, especially targeting multipart form-data uploads.
Monitor logs for unusual or repeated POST requests containing directory traversal patterns or anomalous file upload activity.
If possible, disable or remove the vulnerable upload.cgi functionality until a vendor patch is available.
Engage with SOUND4 Ltd. for official patches or updates and apply them promptly once released.
Conduct thorough security assessments and penetration tests focusing on this vulnerability to identify potential exploitation paths.
Implement application-level input validation and sanitization to reject suspicious pathname inputs.
Maintain up-to-date backups of critical systems to enable recovery in case of compromise.
Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid detection and response.

Description

SOUND4 IMPACT/FIRST/PULSE/Eco v2.x contains an unauthenticated directory traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to write arbitrary files through the 'upgfile' parameter in upload.cgi. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by sending crafted multipart form-data POST requests with directory traversal sequences to write files to unintended system locations.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially those relying on SOUND4 Ltd.'s Impact/Pulse/First products in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and utilities. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to modify or replace system files, leading to operational disruptions, data corruption, or unauthorized control over monitoring and control systems. This could result in downtime, financial losses, regulatory non-compliance, and reputational damage. Given the unauthenticated nature of the vulnerability, attackers from anywhere can attempt exploitation, increasing the threat landscape. The potential for lateral movement and persistence within networks further amplifies the risk. Organizations with interconnected industrial control systems or those integrated with national critical infrastructure are particularly vulnerable to cascading effects. The lack of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive defense, but the high severity score indicates that exploitation impact would be severe.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 22 Dec 2025, 22:17 UTC

Technical details

References

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