# CVE-2023-42137: Path traversal in POS terminals

> Attackers with shell access can execute commands with high privileges on PAX POS devices via malicious symlinks.

- **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:** 15 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 17 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w8g8-vhwr-gr27

## What is CVE-2023-42137?

CVE-2023-42137 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in PAX Technology POS terminals, published on 15 Jan 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PAX Android based POS devices with PayDroid_8.1.0_Sagittarius_V11.1.50_20230614 or earlier can allow for command execution with high privileges by using malicious symlinks.

The attacker must have shell access to the device in order to exploit this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-42137?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Paxtechnology Paydroid.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-42137?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-42137 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-42137 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-42137 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in PAX Technology POS terminals

- [CVE-2023-42136](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42136/): Command injection in POS terminals (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-26582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26582/): Command injection in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-4818](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-4818/): Security feature bypass in A920 (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2023-42134](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42134/): Code injection in POS terminals (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2023-42135](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42135/): Command injection in A50 (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-42137 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-42137 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in PAX Technology POS terminals, published on 15 Jan 2024. 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-2023-42137 exists.

Affected product: PAX Technology POS terminals. 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-2023-42137/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42137/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-42137
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-42137
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-42137

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-42137/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.