CVE-2023-34298 | Pulse Secure Client SetupService Directory Traversal Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Pulse Secure Client SetupService Directory Traversal Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Pulse Secure Client. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within SetupService. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied path prior to using it in file operations. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the service. Was ZDI-CAN-17687.

Published: 2024-05-02 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-34298 is rated Moderate Risk (52.2/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.98%). 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-2023-34298

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 2026-06-15 0.08% 0.98% +0.89%
2 2025-08-14 0.04% 0.08% +0.04%
3 2025-03-17 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-34298

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-34298

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-34298

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ivanti pulse_secure_desktop_client < 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:pulse_secure_desktop_client:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r15:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti pulse_secure_installer_service 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:pulse_secure_installer_service:9.1:r18.23345:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti pulse_secure_installer_service 22.4.1439 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:pulse_secure_installer_service:22.4.1439:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti secure_access_client 22.2 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:secure_access_client:22.2:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti secure_access_client 22.3 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:secure_access_client:22.3:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
ivanti secure_access_client 22.3 cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:secure_access_client:22.3:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-34298

cvelogic Threat Intelligence