VulnerabilityPublished 21 Nov 2023Updated 10 Jun 2025

CVE-2023-5553: AXIS OS · Incorrect Authorization

Affects AXIS OSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.6 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.6High

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 26% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Physical: The attack requires the attacker to physically touch or manipulate the vulnerable component. Physical interaction may be brief or persistent.
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
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.
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.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Nov 2023
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
Axis Communications AB AXIS OS	Affected >=10.8 <=11.6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate the risks posed by CVE-2023-5553, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Immediately identify all Axis devices running AXIS OS versions 10.8 through 11.6 within their environment. 2) Apply the official patches released by Axis Communications without delay to ensure the Secure Boot bypass flaw is remediated. 3) Implement strict physical security controls around devices, especially those installed in publicly accessible or unsecured locations, to prevent unauthorized physical access that could enable exploitation. 4) Employ network segmentation to isolate Axis devices from critical network segments, limiting the potential lateral movement if a device is compromised. 5) Monitor device logs and network traffic for signs of tampering or unusual activity that could indicate attempts to exploit the vulnerability. 6) Establish a regular update and patch management process for all IoT and networked security devices to reduce exposure to known vulnerabilities. 7) Consider deploying additional security layers such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions that can detect anomalous behavior on devices. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on physical security, patch prioritization, and network architecture adjustments tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.

Description

During internal Axis Security Development Model (ASDM) threat-modelling, a flaw was found in the protection for device tampering (commonly known as Secure Boot) in AXIS OS making it vulnerable to a sophisticated attack to bypass this protection. To Axis' knowledge, there are no known exploits of the vulnerability at this time. Axis has released patched AXIS OS versions for the highlighted flaw. Please refer to the Axis security advisory for more information and solution.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2023-5553 is significant, especially for those relying on Axis network video products for security surveillance and monitoring. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to bypass Secure Boot protections, leading to unauthorized firmware modifications or code execution. This compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the surveillance systems, potentially allowing attackers to disable cameras, manipulate video feeds, or use compromised devices as entry points into broader network infrastructures. Given the critical role of video surveillance in public safety, critical infrastructure protection, and corporate security across Europe, such a compromise could have cascading effects including physical security breaches, data exfiltration, and disruption of security operations. The requirement for physical access limits remote exploitation but raises concerns in environments where devices are deployed in less secure or publicly accessible locations. The changed scope in the CVSS vector indicates that the attacker can affect components beyond the initially vulnerable device, potentially impacting connected systems and networks. Therefore, the vulnerability poses a high risk to organizations in sectors such as transportation, government, utilities, and large enterprises that utilize Axis devices extensively.

Summary

CVE-2023-5553 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in AXIS OS, the operating system used by Axis Communications AB in their network video products. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-863, which pertains to incorrect authorization. Specifically, the flaw affects the Secure Boot mechanism designed to protect devices from tampering by ensuring that only authorized and verified firmware and software components are loaded during the boot process. During an internal threat modeling exercise under the Axis Security Development Model (ASDM), this flaw was discovered, revealing that an attacker could potentially bypass Secure Boot protections. This bypass could allow unauthorized code execution or firmware modification, compromising the device's integrity and security. The affected versions range from AXIS OS 10.8 through 11.6. Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild to date, the vulnerability is rated with a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.6, indicating a high level of risk. The CVSS vector (AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) shows that the attack requires physical access (AV:P), has low complexity (AC:L), requires no privileges (PR:N) or user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability with a changed scope (S:C). This means an attacker with physical access could fully compromise the device, leading to complete control over the system and potentially the network it is connected to. Axis Communications has released patched versions of AXIS OS to address this vulnerability, emphasizing the importance of updating affected devices promptly.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

axis.com/dam/public/0a/66/25/cve-2023-5553-en-US-417789.pdf (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Jul 2025, 02:49 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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