# CVE-2023-38543: Denial of service in Secure Access Client Windows

> A locally authenticated attacker can cause a denial of service on the user machine by exploiting a vulnerable configuration in the Ivanti Secure Access Client.

- **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-hrgc-qp5r-xq3p

## What is CVE-2023-38543?

CVE-2023-38543 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Ivanti Secure Access Client Windows, 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 exists on all versions of the Ivanti Secure Access Client below 22.6R1.1, which could allow a locally authenticated attacker to exploit a vulnerable configuration, potentially leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition on the user machine.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38543?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ivanti Secure Access Client.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38543?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-38543 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-38543 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38543 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ivanti Secure Access Client Windows

- [CVE-2026-8992](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-8992/): Security feature bypass in Secure Access Client (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-35080](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35080/): Privilege escalation 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-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-2023-38543 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38543 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Ivanti Secure Access Client Windows, 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-2023-38543 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ivanti Secure Access Client Windows. 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-2023-38543/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38543/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38543
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38543
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38543

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38543/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.