CriticalCVE-2023-34362

    Progress MOVEit Transfer SQL Injection Vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: SingCERT, pwn.watch, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    In Progress MOVEit Transfer before 2021.0.6 (13.0.6), 2021.1.4 (13.1.4), 2022.0.4 (14.0.4), 2022.1.5 (14.1.5), and 2023.0.1 (15.0.1), a SQL injection vulnerability has been found in the MOVEit Transfer web application that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to MOVEit Transfer's database. Depending on the database engine being used (MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Azure SQL), an attacker may be able to infer information about the structure and contents of the database, and execute SQL statements that alter or delete database elements.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. CISA lists it as used in ransomware campaigns. Update Progress Moveit Cloud to version 14.0.5.45, Progress Moveit Cloud to version 14.1.6.97, Progress Moveit Cloud to version 15.0.2.39. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Progress Moveit Cloud lt *..14.0.5.45
    • Progress Moveit Cloud lt 14.1.0.0..14.1.6.97
    • Progress Moveit Cloud lt 15.0.0.0..15.0.2.39
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer lt *..2021.0.7
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer lt 2021.1.0..2021.1.5
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer lt 2022.0.0..2022.0.5
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer lt 2022.1.0..2022.1.6
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer lt 2023.0.0..2023.0.2
    Fixed in
    • Progress Moveit Cloud 14.0.5.45
    • Progress Moveit Cloud 14.1.6.97
    • Progress Moveit Cloud 15.0.2.39
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer 2021.0.7
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer 2021.1.5
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer 2022.0.5
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer 2022.1.6
    • Progress MOVEit Transfer 2023.0.2

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    9.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: SingCERT, pwn.watch, CVE.org

    99.93 %

    EPSS score

    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 99.97

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    256.74 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: ANSSI / CERT-FR, CSA/SingCERT How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    9.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    99.93 %
    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    99.97
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 27 June 2024
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-89

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    The flaw is network-reachable without authentication or user interaction and gives direct database access on a platform whose sole purpose is holding sensitive files. That makes it ideal for mass, automated data theft followed by extortion. CISA flags known use in ransomware campaigns, and its exploitation likelihood ranks among the very highest of any CVE. Typical victims are organisations running internet-facing managed file transfer: government, finance, healthcare, HR and payroll providers, and their supply chains. Treat any internet-reachable instance that was unpatched as critical and presumed compromised. That requires a forensic review and a notification-duty assessment, not just a patch.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Block inbound HTTP/HTTPS (TCP 80/443) to MOVEit Transfer at the perimeter now and keep it blocked until patching and compromise assessment are done. Allow only a tight admin jump-host allowlist. Close any internet-exposed RDP (TCP 3389) on the host as well.
      • Patch: The minimum fixed builds are 2021.0.6 (13.0.6), 2021.1.4 (13.1.4), 2022.0.4 (14.0.4), 2022.1.5 (14.1.5) and 2023.0.1 (15.0.1). Older releases (2020.x, 2019.x) are also affected and unsupported, so they need an upgrade to a supported line. Because the affected-product list also includes later builds (e.g. 2021.0.7, 2023.0.2), go straight to the latest cumulative release and look up the exact version in the Progress vendor advisory. MOVEit Cloud is patched by the vendor; confirm status in the customer portal.
      • Preserve evidence before patching: Collect the IIS logs (C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles), the MOVEit application logs, a copy of C:\MOVEitTransfer\wwwroot and a DB backup or VM snapshot. Patching closes the hole but does not remove an implanted web shell.
      • Hunt the web root: Look for unknown .aspx files, notably human2.aspx and similarly named, recently modified files. Also check C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\*\Temporary ASP.NET Files\ for freshly compiled App_Web_*.dll. Quarantine anything you find; do not simply delete it.
      • Rotate secrets: This covers all MOVEit user and service accounts, the DB service account, and Azure Blob Storage keys and connection strings if Azure integration is used. Remove unknown recently created admin accounts and kill active sessions in the MOVEit DB.
      • Scope data loss: Derive exfiltrated files and affected orgs/folders from the logs. If personal data is involved, the 72 h GDPR clock starts. NIS2 entities must send their early warning to the national CSIRT/BSI within 24 h.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Place MOVEit in a dedicated DMZ. Make the database (MSSQL/MySQL) reachable only from the application server. Apply default-deny egress from the server to hinder exfiltration and tool staging.
      • Front-door access control: Connect external partners via VPN, ZTNA or an mTLS reverse proxy instead of direct internet exposure. Maintain a source-IP allowlist of known partners where feasible.
      • WAF/IPS: Strip or drop X-siLock-* request headers arriving from external clients. Block requests to /moveitisapi/moveitisapi.dll carrying action=m2 and anomalous /guestaccess.aspx calls. Enable the Suricata/ET signatures for CVE-2023-34362.
      • Endpoint hardening: Use AppLocker/WDAC or an EDR rule to prevent w3wp.exe from spawning cmd.exe, powershell.exe or csc.exe. Enable file-integrity monitoring on the web root.
      • IAM/least privilege: Give the app's DB login minimal rights (no sysadmin/db_owner, no xp_cmdshell). Run the IIS app pool under a dedicated, unprivileged identity.
      • Data minimisation: Shorten file retention so a successful breach exposes less data.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • IIS access logs: Watch for the sequence POST /moveitisapi/moveitisapi.dll?action=m2 → POST /guestaccess.aspx → POST /api/v1/token → GET /api/v1/folders/*/files from one external IP, and for any hits on /human2.aspx. SPL: index=iis (cs_uri_stem="*human2.aspx" OR (cs_uri_stem="*moveitisapi.dll" cs_uri_query="*action=m2*")) | stats count by c_ip, cs_uri_stem
      • Sysmon EID 1 / EDR process ancestry: w3wp.exe → csc.exe/cvtres.exe compiling App_Web_*.dll, or w3wp.exe → cmd.exe/powershell.exe. KQL: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFileName =~ "w3wp.exe" and FileName in~ ("csc.exe","cmd.exe","powershell.exe")
      • Sysmon EID 11 (FileCreate): New .aspx files under C:\MOVEitTransfer\wwwroot\ or new DLLs in Temporary ASP.NET Files. A Sigma shape: TargetFilename|contains: '\MOVEitTransfer\wwwroot\' with TargetFilename|endswith: '.aspx'.
      • Database/application: Newly created admin-level users, "Health Check Service" sessions outside normal patterns, and bursts of bulk downloads by single accounts.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Sharp spikes in outbound bytes on inbound HTTPS sessions to the MOVEit host from unfamiliar IPs (conn.log with resp_bytes far exceeding orig_bytes), and Suricata alerts on the X-siLock-Comment header.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    In Progress MOVEit Transfer before 2021.0.6 (13.0.6), 2021.1.4 (13.1.4), 2022.0.4 (14.0.4), 2022.1.5 (14.1.5), and 2023.0.1 (15.0.1), a SQL injection vulnerability has been found in the MOVEit Transfer web application that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to MOVEit Transfer's database. Depending on the database engine being used (MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Azure SQL), an attacker may be able to infer information about the structure and contents of the database, and execute SQL statements that alter or delete database elements. NOTE: this is exploited in the wild in May and June 2023; exploitation of unpatched systems can occur via HTTP or HTTPS. All versions (e.g., 2020.0 and 2019x) before the five explicitly mentioned versions are affected, including older unsupported versions.

    Source: CSA/SingCERT, pwn.watch, NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    progressmoveit_cloud
    • 15.0.0.0 – < 15.0.2.39
    • < 14.0.5.45
    • 14.1.0.0 – < 14.1.6.97
    • 15.0.2.39
    • 14.0.5.45
    • 14.1.6.97
    progressmoveit_transfer
    • 2021.1.0 – < 2021.1.5
    • 2023.0.0 – < 2023.0.2
    • 2022.0.0 – < 2022.0.5
    • < 2021.0.7
    • 2022.1.0 – < 2022.1.6
    • 2021.1.5
    • 2023.0.2
    • 2022.0.5
    • 2021.0.7
    • 2022.1.6

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-89Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

      Base

      The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended SQL command when it is sent to a downstream component. Without sufficient removal or quoting of SQL syntax in user-controllable inputs, the generated SQL query can cause those inputs to be interpreted as SQL instead of ordinary user data.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-89

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    CSA/SingCERT[UPDATED] Active Exploitation of Zero-Day Vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer (opens in a new tab)CSA/SingCERTactively exploited
    ANSSI / CERT-FRLicence Ouverte 2.0, as of CERTFR-2023-ALE-005 – Synthèse sur l'exploitation d'une vulnérabilité dans MOVEit Transfer (clôturée 2023-09-11) (opens in a new tab)cert.cyber.gouv.fractively exploited
    Packet StormMOVEit Transfer SQL Injection Remote Code Execution (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—
    Packet StormMOVEit SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

    • community.progress.comMOVEit Transfer Critical Vulnerability (May 2023)Vendor advisory, pwn-watch
    • packetstormsecurity.comfiles/172883/MOVEit-Transfer-SQL-Injection-Remote-Code-Executio…Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • packetstormsecurity.comfiles/173110/MOVEit-SQL-Injection.htmlExploit, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-34362government-resource, US government resource
    • cert.cyber.gouv.frANSSI / CERT-FR: CERTFR-2023-ALE-005 – Synthèse sur l'exploitation d'une vulnérabilité dans MOVEit Transfer (clôturée 2023-09-11)cert-fr
    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: MOVEit Transfer zero-day: Cl0p mass data theftpwn-watch
    • cisa.gov#StopRansomware: CL0P Ransomware Gang Exploits CVE-2023-34362 MOVEit Vulnerability (AA23-158A)pwn-watch
    • cloud.google.comZero-Day Vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer Exploited for Data Theftpwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2023-34362pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2023-35036pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2023-35708pwn-watch
    • cisa.govCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogpwn-watch
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