# CVE-2023-25542: Privilege escalation in Dell Trusted Device Client

> An unauthenticated local attacker can exploit improper installation permissions in Dell Trusted Device Agent to escalate privileges.

- **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:** 6 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 10 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qr2c-96xp-p8jc

## What is CVE-2023-25542?

CVE-2023-25542 is a high-severity vulnerability in 	Dell Trusted Device Client, published on 6 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Dell Trusted Device Agent, versions prior to 5.3.0, contain(s) an improper installation permissions vulnerability. An unauthenticated local attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to escalated privileges.

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-25542?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dell Trusted Device Agent.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-25542?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-25542 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-25542 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-25542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in 	Dell Trusted Device Client

- [CVE-2025-29983](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-29983/): Path traversal in Dell Trusted Device Client (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2025-29984](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-29984/): Privilege escalation in Dell Trusted Device Client (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-25542 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-25542 is a high-severity vulnerability in 	Dell Trusted Device Client, published on 6 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-2023-25542 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 	Dell Trusted Device Client. 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-2023-25542/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25542/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-25542
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-25542
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-25542

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-25542/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.