CVE-2023-53740
Published: 10 December 2025
Summary
CVE-2023-53740 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Dbbroadcast Sft Dab 015\/C Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 36.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-2 (Account Management) and IA-5 (Authenticator Management).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2023-53740 is an authentication bypass vulnerability (CWE-862) in Screen SFT DAB version 1.9.3. The flaw resides in the userManager.cgx endpoint, which allows attackers to change the admin password without supplying current credentials by sending a crafted JSON request containing a new MD5-hashed password, thereby directly modifying the admin account.
Remote, unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low attack complexity and no user interaction required, as reflected in its critical CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Successful exploitation enables full compromise of the admin account, potentially leading to high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
Advisories such as the VulnCheck report detail the authentication bypass mechanism, while a proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available on Exploit-DB (ID 51458). Vendor resources from DB Broadcast and Screen provide context on the SFT DAB series compact air product, and practitioners should review these references for any available patches or mitigation steps.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-60186
Vulnerability details
Screen SFT DAB 1.9.3 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to change the admin password without providing the current credentials. Attackers can exploit the userManager.cgx endpoint by sending a crafted JSON request with a new MD5-hashed password to…
more
directly modify the admin account.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The vulnerability allows remote unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication and modify the admin password via a public-facing web endpoint (userManager.cgx), directly enabling T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
IA-5 requires secure management of authenticators including verification of identity prior to password changes, directly preventing unauthorized modifications via the userManager.cgx endpoint.
AC-2 mandates procedures for account management including authorized modifications to accounts, countering the bypass that allows direct admin password changes without credentials.
SI-10 enforces validation of information inputs at system boundaries, mitigating crafted JSON requests to the vulnerable userManager.cgx endpoint.