CVE-2023-4501
Authentication bypass in OpenText (Micro Focus) Enterprise Server
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- OpenText
Description
User authentication with username and password credentials is ineffective in OpenText (Micro Focus) Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Server (including product variants such as Enterprise Test Server), versions 7.0 patch updates 19 and 20, 8.0 patch updates 8 and 9, and 9.0 patch update 1, when LDAP-based authentication is used with certain configurations. When the vulnerability is active, authentication succeeds with any valid username, regardless of whether the password is correct; it may also succeed with an invalid username (and any password). This allows an attacker with access to the product to impersonate any user. Mitigations: The issue is corrected in the upcoming patch update for each affected product. Product overlays and workaround instructions are available through OpenText Support. The vulnerable configurations are believed to be uncommon. Administrators can test for the vulnerability in their installations by attempting to sign on to a Visual COBOL or Enterprise Server component such as ESCWA using a valid username and incorrect password.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenTextCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Critical9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.76% · top 45% of all CVEs (6 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.8.
Weakness
- CWE-287 Improper Authentication (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-287 and its CVEs
- CWE-305 Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-305 and its CVEs
- CWE-358 Improperly Implemented Security Check for Standard (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-358 and its CVEs
- CWE-253 Incorrect Check of Function Return Value (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-253 and its CVEs
Affected products
OpenText · Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server
- affected 7.0.19 – < 7.0.21
- affected 8.0.8 – < 8.0.10
- affected 9.0.1 – < 9.0.2
What to do
Solution: Install 7.0 Patch Update 21, 8.0 Patch Update 10, or 9.0 Patch Update 2, or later, when available. Hotfix overlays are available now for common platforms and can be produced for other platforms; contact OpenText Support to request a hotfix overlay.
Workaround: Contact OpenText Support for workaround details.
Exploitation: OpenText has not been informed of any exploitation of this vulnerability.
References (1)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2023-4501)Record last updated .