# CVE-2023-31132: Cacti Privilege Escalation

> A low-privileged user on a Windows host can create PHP files in Cacti's web directory to execute code as SYSTEM, escalating privileges.

- **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 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rf5w-pq3f-9876

## What is CVE-2023-31132?

CVE-2023-31132 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 5 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Cacti is an open source operational monitoring and fault management framework. Affected versions are subject to a privilege escalation vulnerability. A low-privileged OS user with access to a Windows host where Cacti is installed can create arbitrary PHP files in a web document directory. The user can then execute the PHP files under the security context of SYSTEM. This allows an attacker to escalate privilege from a normal user account to SYSTEM. This issue has been addressed in version 1.2.25. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-31132?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cacti Cacti.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-31132?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-31132 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-31132 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-31132 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cacti Cacti

- [CVE-2022-46169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46169/): Cacti Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-39893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39893/): Cacti: Pre-authentication SQL injection via rfilter RLIKE clause in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39938](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39938/): Cacti: Unauthenticated RCE on Graph Image (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39955/): Cacti has Pre-Authentication SQL Injection via unanchored FILTER_VALIDATE_REGEXP in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-39361](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39361/): Unauthenticated SQL Injection in graph_view.php in Cacti (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-31132 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-31132 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 5 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-31132 exists.

Affected product: Cacti Cacti. 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-2023-31132/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31132/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-31132
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-31132
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-31132

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31132/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.