Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2023-53955 is a critical-severity Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key (CWE-639) vulnerability in Sound4 Impact Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.3 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 43% 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 map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2023-53955 is an insecure direct object reference vulnerability (CWE-639) present in SOUND4 IMPACT, FIRST, PULSE, and Eco products running version 2.x. This flaw enables attackers to bypass authorization controls and access hidden system resources by manipulating user-supplied input, allowing the execution of privileged functionalities without proper authentication. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity due to its network accessibility, low complexity, and high potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Remote attackers require no privileges, authentication, or user interaction to exploit the vulnerability. By altering user-supplied input, they can directly reference and access unauthorized objects, executing privileged operations that compromise the targeted system.
Advisories from VulnCheck and Zero Science Laboratory (ZSL-2022-5723) detail the authorization bypass via insecure object references in the affected SOUND4 products. An exploit is publicly available on Exploit-DB (ID 51169). No specific patch or mitigation details are provided in the referenced advisories, and the vendor's site is archived via web.archive.org.
The public availability of an exploit on Exploit-DB suggests potential for real-world exploitation, though no confirmed incidents are noted in the provided information.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-60244
Vulnerability Data
SOUND4 IMPACT/FIRST/PULSE/Eco v2.x contains an insecure direct object reference vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass authorization and access hidden system resources. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by manipulating user-supplied input to execute privileged functionalities without proper authentication.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforcing approved authorizations on every access request structurally stops a user-controlled key from reaching another user's data.
Requiring explicit access-control decisions on each request blocks unauthorized key-driven access.
Least-privilege restrictions limit the scope of data reachable even if a key check is bypassed.
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.
Enforcing authorization policy and least privilege directly blocks user-controlled key tampering that bypasses access checks.
Logical access controls prevent unauthorized data access that results from missing authorization checks on object references.
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 directly requires defining and implementing access control rules (including authorization, need-to-know, role-based restrictions, formal requests, and consistency with classification) that stop one user from reaching another's data via a tampered key; the bounded remainder is dynamic or application-specific authorization logic (cross-referenced to 8.26) that may still allow bypass if those downstream rules are flawed.
Managing access rights includes ensuring users can only access their own records and not bypass authorization by altering identifiers.