# CVE-2023-6006: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> Local attackers with write access can escalate privileges to SYSTEM via an unsecured executable load in the pc-pdl-to-image process.

- **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 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 8 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-83xv-2q8m-f6c3

## What is CVE-2023-6006?

CVE-2023-6006 is a high-severity vulnerability in PaperCut NG, PaperCut MF, 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

This vulnerability potentially allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of PaperCut NG. An attacker must have local write access to the C Drive. In addition, Print Archiving must be enabled or the attacker needs to encounter a misconfigured system. This vulnerability does not apply to PaperCut NG installs that have Print Archiving enabled and configured as per the recommended set up procedure. This specific flaw exists within the pc-pdl-to-image process. The process loads an executable from an unsecured location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM

Note: This CVE has been rescored with a "Privileges Required (PR)" rating of low, and “Attack Complexity (AC)” rating of low, reflecting the worst-case scenario where an Administrator has granted local login access to standard network users on the host server.

Weakness: CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-6006?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Papercut Papercut Mf, Papercut Papercut Ng.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-6006?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-6006 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-6006 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-6006 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in PaperCut NG, PaperCut MF

- [CVE-2023-27350](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27350/): PaperCut MF/NG Improper Access Control (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-82078](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-82078/): PaperCut NG/MF Unsafe Reflection (critical 9.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-81578](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-81578/): PaperCut NG/MF Missing Authentication for Critical Function (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-2533](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2533/): PaperCut NG/MF Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-27351](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-27351/): PaperCut NG/MF Improper Authentication (high 8.2, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-6006 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-6006 is a high-severity vulnerability in PaperCut NG, PaperCut MF, 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-2023-6006 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: PaperCut NG, PaperCut MF. 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-2023-6006/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6006/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-6006
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-6006
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-6006

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-6006/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.