# CVE-2023-2331: Bypassing hardening via Unquoted Service path vulnerability

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges by exploiting an unquoted service path in the SureLock Windows application.

- **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:** 27 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 30 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hjqc-mphx-j8hv

## What is CVE-2023-2331?

CVE-2023-2331 is a high-severity vulnerability in 42Gears Surelock  Windows , published on 27 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Unquoted service Path or Element vulnerability in 42Gears Surelock Windows SureLock Service (NixService.Exe) on Windows application will allows to insert arbitrary code into the service.
This issue affects Surelock Windows : from 2.3.12 through 2.40.0.

Weakness: CWE-428 (Unquoted Search Path or Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2331?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 42gears Surelock.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-2331?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-2331 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-2331 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in 42Gears Surelock  Windows 

- [CVE-2023-2335](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2335/): Plaintext Password in Registry (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-2331 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-2331 is a high-severity vulnerability in 42Gears Surelock  Windows , published on 27 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-2023-2331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 42Gears Surelock  Windows . 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-2023-2331/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2331/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2331
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2331
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-2331

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2331/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.