CVE-2023-38950
A path traversal vulnerability in the iclock API of ZKTeco BioTime v8.5.5 allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files via supplying a crafted payload. This vulnerability was fixed in version 9.0.120240617.19506 of ZKBioTime.
do firstApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Can a WAF block it? Yes. The vulnerability involves a path traversal attack via the iclock API, which is accessed over HTTP. Such attacks typically include unusual sequences like ../ in the request path that a WAF can detect and block without affecting normal users. A WAF rule can match path traversal sequences in the API request path. No tracked WAF vendor has published a rule for this CVE yet, so you would write it yourself.
What a custom rule would match: path traversal sequences in the API request path
Also consider: patch · custom WAF rule · canonical path validation
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2023-38950 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-38950 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-38950?
CVE-2023-38950 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-38950?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2023-38950, which is not the same as no patch existing — a fix may have shipped without a tagged reference, or after this record was written. The vendor advisory is the only authority on whether a fix exists, and mitigations may be available regardless.
What does CVE-2023-38950 affect?
CVE-2023-38950 affects zkteco:biotime. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
public exploits
Detection templates only, no public exploit found: 1 Nuclei template
- ZKTeco BioTime v8.5.5 - Path Traversal · detection template · high
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- yes
- technical impact
- partial
Assessed by CISA 21 May 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 3 Aug 2023Published
- 19 May 2025Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 654 days (about 2 years) later
- 21 May 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · 2 days later
- 9 Jun 2025CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 19 days later
- 9 Jul 2026CVE record last updated · 395 days (about 1 year) later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 117 days (about 4 months) later
- Exploitsploitus.com /exploit?id=PACKETSTORM:177859
- Linkclaroty.com /team82/disclosure-dashboard/cve-2023-38950
- Linkfortinet.com /content/dam/fortinet/assets/reports/report-incident-response-middle-east.pdf
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-38950
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.