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Full vulnerability report · 2023
CVE-2023-43506High confidence

Local Privilege Escalation in ClearPass OnGuard Linux Agent

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) · Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager

7.8HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Medium, lowered one band.downgradedsince 11 Sep 2024

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.21% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
ARUBA-PSA-2023-016 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 1 · finalHPE Aruba NetworkingLocal Privilege Escalation in ClearPass OnGuard Linux Agent
1 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager
Summary
A vulnerability in the ClearPass OnGuard Linux agent could allow malicious users on a Linux instance to elevate their user privileges to those of a higher role. A successful exploit allows malicious users to execute arbitrary code with root level privileges on the Linux instance.
Remediation
Upgrade ClearPass Policy Manager to one of the following versions with the fixes to resolve all issues noted in the details section. - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x: 6.11.5 and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x: ClearPass 6.10.8 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x: ClearPass 6.9.13 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above HPE Aruba Networking does not evaluate or patch ClearPass Policy Manager versions that have reached their End of Support (EoS) milestone. Supported versions as of the publication date of this advisory are: - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x For more information about HPE Aruba Networking's End of Support policy visit: https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/end-of-life/
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2023-47912

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

A vulnerability in the ClearPass OnGuard Linux agent could allow malicious users on a Linux instance to elevate their user privileges to those of a higher role. A successful exploit allows malicious users to execute arbitrary code with root level privileges on the Linux instance.

What

A vulnerability in the ClearPass OnGuard Linux agent could allow malicious users on a Linux instance to elevate their user privileges to those of a higher role. A successful exploit allows malicious users to execute arbitrary code with root level privileges on the Linux instance.

Why

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

A vulnerability in the ClearPass OnGuard Linux agent could allow malicious users on a Linux instance to elevate their user privileges to those of a higher role. A successful exploit allows malicious users to execute arbitrary code with root level privileges on the Linux instance.

Why

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Improper Privilege Management → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-269 ↗

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
Remote code executionPrivilege escalationCWE-269
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2023-2734Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein entfernter Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager ausnutzen, um seine Privilegien zu erhöhen, beliebigen Code auszuführen, Sicherheitsmaßnahmen zu umgehen, Dateien zu manipulieren oder vertrauliche Informationen offenzulegen.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20231101Security Bulletin 01 Nov 2023

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 01 Nov 2023, published on 1 November 2023. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2023-AVI-0884Multiples vulnérabilités dans Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager. Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance, un contournement de la politique de sécurité et une élévation de privilèges.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2023-016347アルバネットワークス株式会社の ClearPass Policy Manager における脆弱性

アルバネットワークス株式会社の ClearPass Policy Manager には、不特定の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager
Fixed
Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager
Action
Upgrade ClearPass Policy Manager to one of the following versions with the fixes to resolve all issues noted in the details section. - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x: 6.11.5 and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x: ClearPass 6.10.8 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x: ClearPass 6.9.13 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above HPE Aruba Networking does not evaluate or patch ClearPass Policy Manager versions that have reached their End of Support (EoS) milestone. Supported versions as of the publication date of this advisory are: - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x For more information about HPE Aruba Networking's End of Support policy visit: https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/end-of-life/
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 24 Oct 2023 · Last source change 11 Sept 2024, 17:50 UTC · CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-47912
Product sourceVendor CSAF · HPE Aruba Networking
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · HPE Aruba Networking
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x: 6.11.4 and below ≤ <=6.11.4; ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x: 6.10.8 with ClearPass 6.10.8 Cumulative Hotfix Patch 5 and below; ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x: 6.9.13 with ClearPass 6.9.13 Cumulative Hotfix Patch 3 and below · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x: 6.11.4 and below ≤ <=6.11.4; ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x: 6.10.8 with ClearPass 6.10.8 Cumulative Hotfix Patch 5 and below; ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x: 6.9.13 with ClearPass 6.9.13 Cumulative Hotfix Patch 3 and below · Fixed: Upgrade ClearPass Policy Manager to one of the following versions with the fixes to resolve all issues noted in the details section. - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x: 6.11.5 and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x: ClearPass 6.10.8 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x: ClearPass 6.9.13 Hotfix Q4 2023 for Security issues and above HPE Aruba Networking does not evaluate or patch ClearPass Policy Manager versions that have reached their End of Support (EoS) milestone. Supported versions as of the publication date of this advisory are: - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x For more information about HPE Aruba Networking's End of Support policy visit: https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/end-of-life/
    HPE Aruba Networking ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Patch available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Patch available
    HPE Aruba Networking ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Fixed release recorded from official guidance
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2023-47912↗HPE Aruba Networking security advisory↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2023-43506 · cve.blacktree.nl