# CVE-2023-0635: Privilege escalation to root

> An attacker can escalate privileges to root on ABB ASPECT, NEXUS, and MATRIX industrial control systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rhfh-gm98-5fx4

## What is CVE-2023-0635?

CVE-2023-0635 is a high-severity vulnerability in ABB Ltd. ASPECT®-Enterprise, published on 5 Jun 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in ABB Ltd. ASPECT®-Enterprise on ASPECT®-Enterprise, Linux (2CQG103201S3021, 2CQG103202S3021, 2CQG103203S3021, 2CQG103204S3021 modules), ABB Ltd. NEXUS Series on NEXUS Series, Linux (2CQG100102R2021, 2CQG100104R2021, 2CQG100105R2021, 2CQG100106R2021, 2CQG100110R2021, 2CQG100112R2021, 2CQG100103R2021, 2CQG100107R2021, 2CQG100108R2021, 2CQG100109R2021, 2CQG100111R2021, 2CQG100113R2021 modules), ABB Ltd. MATRIX Series on MATRIX Series, Linux (2CQG100102R1021, 2CQG100103R1021, 2CQG100104R1021, 2CQG100105R1021, 2CQG100106R1021 modules) allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects ASPECT®-Enterprise: from 3.0;0 before 3.07.01; NEXUS Series: from 3.0;0 before 3.07.01; MATRIX Series: from 3.0;0 before 3.07.01.

Weakness: CWE-1391 (Use of Weak Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-0635?

It affects 19 products.


Products: Abb Aspect-Ent-12 Firmware, Abb Aspect-Ent-256 Firmware, Abb Aspect-Ent-2 Firmware, Abb Aspect-Ent-96 Firmware, Abb Matrix-11 Firmware, Abb Matrix-216 Firmware, Abb Matrix-232 Firmware, Abb Matrix-264 Firmware, Abb Matrix-296 Firmware, Abb Nexus-2128-a Firmware, Abb Nexus-2128-F Firmware, Abb Nexus-2128-G Firmware, Abb Nexus-2128 Firmware, Abb Nexus-264-a Firmware, Abb Nexus-264-F Firmware, Abb Nexus-264-G Firmware, Abb Nexus-264 Firmware, Abb Nexus-3-2128 Firmware, Abb Nexus-3-264 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-0635?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-0635 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-0635 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-0635 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ABB Ltd. ASPECT®-Enterprise

- [CVE-2024-6209](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6209/): unauthorized file access (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2024-6298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6298/): remote code execution (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2024-51547](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-51547/): Credentials Disclosure - keys (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-11317](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-11317/): PHP Session Fixation (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-48839](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-48839/): Remote Code Execution, RCE (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-0635 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-0635 is a high-severity vulnerability in ABB Ltd. ASPECT®-Enterprise, published on 5 Jun 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-0635 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ABB Ltd. ASPECT®-Enterprise. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0635/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0635/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0635
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0635
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-0635

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0635/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.