Security Resilience

CVE-2023-1968

Illumina Nextseq 550Dx Firmware 1.0.0 – 1.3.1

Published
28 April 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 10.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.018 78th percentile
Risk Priority 77 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-1968 is a critical-severity Binding to an Unrestricted IP Address (CWE-1327) vulnerability in Illumina Nextseq 550Dx Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Steganography (T1001.002); ranked in the top 22% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Instruments with Illumina Universal Copy Service v2.x are vulnerable due to binding to an unrestricted IP address. An unauthenticated malicious actor could use UCS to listen on all IP addresses, including those capable of accepting remote communications.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.002 Steganography Command And Control
Adversaries may use steganographic techniques to hide command and control traffic to make detection efforts more difficult.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
T1006 Direct Volume Access Stealth
Adversaries may directly access a volume to bypass file access controls and file system monitoring.
T1011.001 Exfiltration Over Bluetooth Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over Bluetooth rather than the command and control channel.
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-1966Same product: Illumina Iscan
CVE-2026-47873Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2026-42503Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2026-20212Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2024-49382Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2024-36105Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2025-55322Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2025-61934Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2024-49383Shared CWE-1327
CVE-2024-49384Shared CWE-1327

Affected Assets

illumina
iscan firmware
4.0.0, 4.0.5
illumina
iseq 100 firmware
all versions
illumina
miniseq firmware
≥ 2.0
illumina
miseq firmware
≥ 4.0
illumina
miseqdx firmware
4.0 · ≥ 4.0.1
illumina
nextseq 500 firmware
4.0
illumina
nextseq 550 firmware
4.0
illumina
nextseq 550dx firmware
4.0 · 1.0.0 — 1.3.1 · ≥ 1.3.3
illumina
nextseq 1000 firmware
1.4.1
illumina
nextseq 2000 firmware
1.4.1
+1 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.AM-03 partial match
blocks

Documenting authorized network flows informs correct bind decisions and reduces the chance of 0.0.0.0 usage.

PR.IR-01 partial match
blocks

Network protection controls directly prevent exposure via unrestricted binds while fixing the weakness addresses only one vector of unauthorized access.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Configuration management enforces restricted bind addresses, covering the weakness completely but only one aspect of overall hardening.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

degrades

Network security controls directly require restricting listening interfaces to specific addresses rather than 0.0.0.0.

blocks

A.8.21 requires identifying, requiring and monitoring security features (including authentication, authorization and network connection controls) from providers and formulating rules on allowed networks/services; it does not stop a product from binding to 0.0.0.0 and the weakness remains exploitable until the binding itself is changed.

degrades

Network segregation can limit the blast radius of an unrestricted binding but does not prevent the binding itself.

removes
blocks

Secure architecture principles discourage exposing services on all interfaces, though the control is broader than this single weakness.

prevents

Secure coding guidance can catch hard-coded 0.0.0.0 bindings during development but is not the primary mitigation.

References