# CVE-2023-39520: Cryptomator vulnerable to Local Elevation of Privileges

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to SYSTEM via the MSI repair function in Cryptomator, which loads user PowerShell profiles.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **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:** 7 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-62gx-54j7-mjh3

## What is CVE-2023-39520?

CVE-2023-39520 is a medium-severity vulnerability in cryptomator, published on 7 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Cryptomator encrypts data being stored on cloud infrastructure. The MSI installer provided on the homepage for Cryptomator version 1.9.2 allows local privilege escalation for low privileged users, via the `repair` function. The problem occurs as the repair function of the MSI is spawning an SYSTEM Powershell without the `-NoProfile` parameter. Therefore the profile of the user starting the repair will be loaded. Version 1.9.3 contains a fix for this issue. Adding a `-NoProfile` to the powershell is a possible workaround.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-39520?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cryptomator Cryptomator.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-39520?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-39520 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-39520 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-39520 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in cryptomator

- [CVE-2026-32309](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32309/): Cryptomator: Hub unlocking accepts plaintext HTTP and unvalidated endpoint schemes (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2022-25366](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-25366/): Code injection in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-32303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32303/): Cryptomator: Tampered vault configuration allows MITM attack on Hub API (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2026-32317](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32317/): Cryptomator for Android: Tampered vault configuration allows MITM attack on Hub API (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2026-32318](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32318/): Cryptomator for IOS: Tampered vault configuration allows MITM attack on Hub API (high 7.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-39520 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-39520 is a medium-severity vulnerability in cryptomator, published on 7 Aug 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-2023-39520 exists.

Affected product: cryptomator. 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-2023-39520/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39520/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-39520
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39520
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-39520

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39520/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.