# CVE-2023-1412: Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in WARP's MSI Installer

> Unprivileged users can escalate to SYSTEM privileges via MSI installer repair flaws, allowing arbitrary file access and system manipulation.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 10 Feb 2025

## What is CVE-2023-1412?

CVE-2023-1412 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cloudflare WARP, published on 5 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An unprivileged (non-admin) user can exploit an Improper Access Control vulnerability in the Cloudflare WARP Client for Windows (<= 2022.12.582.0) to perform privileged operations with SYSTEM context by working with a combination of opportunistic locks (oplock) and symbolic links (which can both be created by an unprivileged user).

After installing the Cloudflare WARP Client (admin privileges required), an MSI-Installer is placed under C:\Windows\Installer. The vulnerability lies in the repair function of this MSI.

ImpactAn unprivileged (non-admin) user can exploit this vulnerability to perform privileged operations with SYSTEM context, including deleting arbitrary files and reading arbitrary file content. This can lead to a variety of attacks, including the manipulation of system files and privilege escalation.

PatchesA new installer with a fix that addresses this vulnerability was released in version 2023.3.381.0. While the WARP Client itself is not vulnerable (only the installer), users are encouraged to upgrade to the latest version and delete any older installers present in their systems.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1412?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cloudflare Warp.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-1412?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-1412 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-1412 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1412 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cloudflare WARP

- [CVE-2022-4428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4428/): support_uri validation missing in WARP client for Windows (high 8.9)
- [CVE-2022-2225](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2225/): Zero Trust Secure Web Gateway policies bypass using WARP client subcommands (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-2754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2754/): Plaintext transmission of DNS requests in Windows 1.1.1.1 WARP client (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2023-1862](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1862/): Remote access to warp-svc.exe in Cloudflare WARP (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2023-0652](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0652/): Local Privilege Escalation in Cloudflare WARP Installer (Windows) (high 7.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-1412 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-1412 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cloudflare WARP, published on 5 Apr 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-2023-1412 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cloudflare WARP. 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-2023-1412/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1412/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1412
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1412
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1412

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1412/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.