# CVE-2023-25539: Command injection in NetWorker NVE

> Remote unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary OS commands on Dell NetWorker, leading to full system control.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 31 May 2023
- **Updated:** 9 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f3pc-jh8h-4mvw

## What is CVE-2023-25539?

CVE-2023-25539 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Dell NetWorker NVE, published on 31 May 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Dell NetWorker 19.6.1.2, contains an OS command injection Vulnerability in the NetWorker client. A remote unauthenticated attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to the execution of arbitrary OS commands on the application's underlying OS, with the privileges of the vulnerable application. This is a high severity vulnerability as the exploitation allows an attacker to take complete control of a system, so Dell recommends customers to upgrade at the earliest opportunity.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-25539?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dell Networker.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-25539?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-25539 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-25539 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-25539 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dell NetWorker NVE

- [CVE-2023-28055](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28055/): Missing authorization in NetWorker (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-42422](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42422/): Auth bypass in NetWorker (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2025-21103](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21103/): Code injection in NetWorker Management Console (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2025-21107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21107/): Privilege escalation in NetWorker (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-22432](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22432/): Information disclosure in NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications - Oracle (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-25539 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-25539 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Dell NetWorker NVE, published on 31 May 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-25539 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dell NetWorker NVE. 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-2023-25539/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25539/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-25539
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-25539
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-25539

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25539/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.