# CVE-2023-3160: Local privilege escalation in security products for Windows

> Attackers can escalate privileges by exploiting file operation flaws during module updates in ESET Windows security products.

- **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:** 14 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 9 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r9qp-q9m8-hww3

## What is CVE-2023-3160?

CVE-2023-3160 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus, published on 14 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The vulnerability potentially allows an attacker to misuse ESET’s file operations during the module update to delete or move files without having proper permissions.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3160?

It affects 8 products.


Products: Eset Endpoint Antivirus, Eset Endpoint Security, Eset Internet Security, Eset Mail Security, Eset Nod32, Eset Security, Eset Server Security, Eset Smart Security.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-3160?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-3160 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-3160 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3160 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus

- [CVE-2024-0353](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0353/): Local privilege escalation in Windows products (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-37852](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37852/): LPE in ESET products for Windows (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-5594](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5594/): Improper following of a certificate's chain of trust in ESET security products (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2021-37851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37851/): Local Privilege Escalation in ESET product for Windows (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2022-27167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27167/): Arbitrary File Deletion in ESET products for Windows (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-3160 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-3160 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus, published on 14 Aug 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-2023-3160 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus. 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-2023-3160/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3160/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3160
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3160
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-3160

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3160/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.