CVE-2023-50260 — wazuh / wazuh
Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')Wazuh is a free and open source platform used for threat prevention, detection, and response. A wrong validation in the host_deny script allows to write any string in the hosts.deny file, which can end in an arbitrary command execution on the target system. This vulnerability is part of the active response feature, which can automatically triggers actions in response to alerts. By default, active responses are limited to a set of pre defined executables. This is enforced by only allowing executables stored under /var/ossec/active-response/bin to be run as an active response. However, the /var/ossec/active-response/bin/host_deny can be exploited. host_deny is used to add IP address to the /etc/hosts.deny file to block incoming connections on a service level by using TCP wrappers. Attacker can inject arbitrary command into the /etc/hosts.deny file and execute arbitrary command by using the spawn directive. The active response can be triggered by writing events either to the local execd queue on server or to the ar queue which forwards the events to agents. So, it can leads to LPE on server as root and RCE on agent as root. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.7.2.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| wazuh / wazuh | 4.2.0 | 4.7.2 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.