Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-35841

LPE in Phoenixtech Winflash ≤ 4.5.0.0

Public PoCLPE
Published
14 May 2024
Modified
25 September 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0037 30th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-35841 is a high-severity Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) vulnerability in Phoenixtech Winflash. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked at the 30th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control in Phoenix WinFlash Driver on Windows allows Privilege Escalation which allows for modification of system firmware.This issue affects WinFlash Driver: before 4.5.0.0.

CWE(s)
CWE-732CWE-782

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-31100Same vendor: Phoenixtech
CVE-2023-5058Same vendor: Phoenixtech
CVE-2024-12533Same vendor: Phoenixtech
CVE-2026-1344Shared CWE-732
CVE-2026-16157Shared CWE-732
CVE-2025-30413Shared CWE-732
CVE-2023-32162Shared CWE-732
CVE-2025-26469Shared CWE-732
CVE-2024-0019Shared CWE-732
CVE-2025-3394Shared CWE-732

Affected Assets

phoenixtech
winflash
≤ 4.5.0.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V8.2.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match

Enforces the access control policy that defines permissions on resources, thereby stopping incorrect assignments from remaining exploitable.

AC-6 Least Privilege good match

Directly requires assignment of only the minimum necessary permissions, preventing overly broad grants on critical resources.

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.

PR.AA-05 full match
prevents

Directly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing access permissions and least privilege on resources.

PR.IR-01 mostly match
prevents

Protects environments from unauthorized logical access, which includes improperly exposed IOCTL entry points.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly include correct permission settings for critical resources.

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.

A.5.15 Access control mostly match
prevents

By requiring owners to determine and document the exact permissions needed for each asset, the control reduces the likelihood that default or overly permissive file and resource permissions will be left in place.

A.5.18 Access rights mostly match
prevents

Documented provisioning and revocation procedures reduce the chance that critical resources retain overly permissive default or leftover permissions after personnel changes.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights mostly match
prevents

Documented authorization, expiry rules, and audit logging of privileged accounts make it harder for critical resources to retain overly permissive or stale permission assignments.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect missing IOCTL authorization during development.

A.8.3 Information access restriction mostly match
prevents

Requiring explicit configuration of access controls and permissions for files, applications and services counters the assignment of overly permissive default or incorrect file-system rights.

A.8.4 Access to source code mostly match
prevents

Enforcing differentiated permissions on the source-code repository and program listings stops the assignment of overly broad default or inherited permissions to critical resources.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2016 (2 rules)
  • V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-224831 Local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2019 (2 rules)
  • V-205741 Windows Server 2019 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-205663 Windows Server 2019 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2022 (2 rules)
  • V-254393 Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-254250 Windows Server 2022 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732

References