Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-4801

Crypto Weakness in Proofpoint Insider Threat Management ≤ 7.14.3.69

Crypto Weakness
Published
13 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0022 13th percentile
Risk Priority 54 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-4801 is a high-severity Improper Certificate Validation (CWE-295) vulnerability in Proofpoint Insider Threat Management. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Adversary-in-the-Middle (T1557); ranked at the 13th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An improper certification validation vulnerability in the Insider Threat Management (ITM) Agent for MacOS could be used by an anonymous actor on an adjacent network to establish a man-in-the-middle position between the agent and the ITM server after the agent…

more

has registered. All versions prior to 7.14.3.69 are affected. Agents for Windows, Linux, and Cloud are unaffected.

CWE(s)
CWE-295

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1557.002 ARP Cache Poisoning Credential Access
Adversaries may poison Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) caches to position themselves between the communication of two or more networked devices.
attack.mitre.org →
T1557.003 DHCP Spoofing Credential Access
Adversaries may redirect network traffic to adversary-owned systems by spoofing Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) traffic and acting as a malicious DHCP server on the victim network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1557.004 Evil Twin Credential Access
Adversaries may host seemingly genuine Wi-Fi access points to deceive users into connecting to malicious networks as a way of supporting follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-4802Same product: Proofpoint Insider Threat Management
CVE-2023-4828Same product: Proofpoint Insider Threat Management
CVE-2023-2818Same product: Proofpoint Insider Threat Management
CVE-2023-4803Same product: Proofpoint Insider Threat Management
CVE-2024-50394Shared CWE-295
CVE-2023-0464Shared CWE-295
CVE-2026-48247Shared CWE-295
CVE-2025-68482Shared CWE-295
CVE-2026-22613Shared CWE-295
CVE-2024-47119Shared CWE-295

Affected Assets

proofpoint
insider threat management
≤ 7.14.3.69

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 12 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SA-19 Component Authenticity
addresses: CWE-295

When certificates are used to establish component provenance, the control requires correct certificate validation procedures.

SC-17 Public Key Infrastructure Certificates
addresses: CWE-295

Mandates approved trust anchors and issuance policies, directly preventing acceptance of unvalidated or untrusted certificates.

SC-45 System Time Synchronization
addresses: CWE-295

Correct system time is required for proper enforcement of certificate notBefore/notAfter dates and time-based revocation checks.

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-03 mostly match
prevents

Certificate-based authentication of users/services/hardware directly depends on correct validation.

PR.DS-02 mostly match
prevents

Proper certificate validation is a core mechanism for protecting data-in-transit confidentiality and integrity.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices explicitly include implementing correct certificate validation logic.

ID.RA-09 partial match
prevents

Assessing authenticity/integrity of acquired software often relies on code-signing certificate validation.

PR.AA-04 partial match
prevents

Identity assertions conveyed via certificates require validation to be verified.

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.8.24 Use of cryptography partial match
prevents

Requiring issuance and validation of public-key certificates under an approved policy reduces the chance that certificates with improper validation will be trusted.

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 (3 rules)
  • V-248574 YUM must be configured to prevent the installation of patches, service packs, device drivers, or OL 8 system components that have not been digitally signed using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
  • V-248531 OL 8, for PKI-based authentication, must validate certificates by constructing a certification path (which includes status information) to an accepted trust anchor. prevents CWE-295
  • V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
  • V-204447 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
  • V-204448 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
  • V-230264 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
  • V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295

References