CVE-2023-28433 | Minio Privilege Escalation on Windows via Path separator manipulation

Minio is a Multi-Cloud Object Storage framework. All users on Windows prior to version RELEASE.2023-03-20T20-16-18Z are impacted. MinIO fails to filter the `\` character, which allows for arbitrary object placement across buckets. As a result, a user with low privileges, such as an access key, service account, or STS credential, which only has permission to `PutObject` in a specific bucket, can create an admin user. This issue is patched in RELEASE.2023-03-20T20-16-18Z. There are no known workarounds.

Published: 2023-03-22 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-28433 is rated Moderate Risk (60.2/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.64%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-28433

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-05 0.27% 0.64% +0.37%
2 2025-12-15 0.22% 0.27% +0.05%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.22% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-28433

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-28433

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2023-28433

GHSA-w23q-4hw3-2pp6 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — Minio vulnerable to Privilege Escalation on Windows via Path separator manipulation

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-28433

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2023-28433: 1 source package rows (minio); 188 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-community, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.22-community, 3.23-community, edge-community); fixed 0, open 188. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-28433

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-28433

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
minio minio < 2023-03-20t20-16-18z cpe:2.3:a:minio:minio:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-28433

cvelogic Threat Intelligence