# CVE-2023-35080: Privilege escalation in Secure Access Client

> A locally authenticated attacker can exploit a vulnerable configuration in the Ivanti Secure Access Windows client to escalate privileges, cause denial of service, or disclose information.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 7 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g78x-643m-9qmf

## What is CVE-2023-35080?

CVE-2023-35080 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Secure Access Client, published on 14 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability has been identified in the Ivanti Secure Access Windows client, which could allow a locally authenticated attacker to exploit a vulnerable configuration, potentially leading to various security risks, including the escalation of privileges, denial of service, or information disclosure.

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-35080?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ivanti Secure Access Client.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-35080?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-35080 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-35080 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-35080 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Ivanti Secure Access (previously Pulse Secure) privilege escalation Cobalt Strike BOF (CVE-2023-35080). (github_poc): https://github.com/tijme/ivanti-cve-2023-35080-privilege-escalation-bof
- https://github.com/HopHouse/Ivanti-Pulse_VPN-Client_Exploit-CVE-2023-35080_Privilege-escalation (github_poc): https://github.com/HopHouse/Ivanti-Pulse_VPN-Client_Exploit-CVE-2023-35080_Privilege-escalation

## Other vulnerabilities in Ivanti Secure Access Client

- [CVE-2026-8992](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-8992/): Security feature bypass in Secure Access Client (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-38043](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38043/): Denial of service in Secure Access Client Windows (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-38543](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38543/): Denial of service in Secure Access Client Windows (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-7432](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-7432/): Race condition in Secure Access Client (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2025-22454](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-22454/): Privilege escalation in Secure Access Client (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-35080 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-35080 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Secure Access Client, published on 14 Nov 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-2023-35080 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ivanti Secure Access 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-2023-35080/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35080/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-35080
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-35080
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-35080

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35080/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.