CVE-2023-44218
Sonicwall Netextender ≤ 10.2.336
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-44218 is a high-severity Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions (CWE-267) vulnerability in Sonicwall Netextender. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked at the 11th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-48577
Vulnerability Data
A flaw within the SonicWall NetExtender Pre-Logon feature enables an unauthorized user to gain access to the host Windows operating system with 'SYSTEM' level privileges, leading to a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 10 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
V13.2.2V3.7.3V9.2.2V9.2.3
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.
Defining and enforcing least-privilege permissions directly reduces the chance that a privilege permits unintended unsafe actions.
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.
Access control policy can limit unsafe privilege use but does not define safe actions for each privilege.
Access rights assignment can restrict privileges to intended actions, yet does not guarantee the privilege itself is safe.
Privileged access rights control can restrict unsafe privileges, yet does not ensure the privilege definition itself is safe.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles including least privilege, default deny, fail securely, assume breach, distrust external input, and security-oriented design reviews that explicitly analyse required controls and attack patterns; this directly stops unsafe actions from being attached to privileges/roles in the large majority of cases, with a bounded remainder (e.g. unsafe actions arising from flawed business-logic requirements or post-design implementation drift).
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` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
- V-271725 OL 9 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. blocks CWE-267
Ubuntu 22.04 (3 rules)
- V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. blocks CWE-267
- V-260529 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must be configured so that remote X connections are disabled, unless to fulfill documented and validated mission requirements. blocks CWE-267
- V-260542 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must prevent direct login into the root account. blocks CWE-267