{"id":37323,"date":"2025-05-12T05:17:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T05:17:44","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-04T11:19:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:19:41","slug":"cve-2023-6631-powersystem-center-vulnerability-could-allow-privilege-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-6631-powersystem-center-vulnerability-could-allow-privilege-escalation\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2023-6631: PowerSYSTEM Center Vulnerability Could Allow Privilege Escalation<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A high-severity vulnerability has been identified in PowerSYSTEM Center versions 2020 Update 16 and earlier versions. This vulnerability, designated as CVE-2023-6631, could potentially allow an authorized local user to insert arbitrary code into the unquoted service path and escalate their privileges. This could result in a significant impact on the security of the system, allowing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-3952-unauthorized-modification-of-data-in-projectopia-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42585\">unauthorized alteration of system configurations or even data<\/a> leakage. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35964-critical-os-command-injection-vulnerabilities-in-gtkwave-s-decompression-functionality\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42116\">vulnerability is especially critical<\/a> for businesses and organizations that utilize PowerSYSTEM Center for their operations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2023-6631<br \/>\nSeverity: High (7.8 CVSS)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: Low<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32974-critical-vulnerability-in-xwiki-s-rights-analysis-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42268\">Potential system<\/a> compromise and data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-318443388\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>PowerSYSTEM Center | 2020 Update 16 and prior<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-0208-denial-of-service-vulnerability-in-wireshark-s-gvcp-dissector\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42119\">vulnerability lies in the unquoted service<\/a> path of PowerSYSTEM Center. A local user with low-level access can manipulate this service path by inserting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35995-gtkwave-array-index-validation-vulnerability-leading-to-arbitrary-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42034\">arbitrary code<\/a>. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-35997-arbitrary-code-execution-vulnerability-in-gtkwave\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42208\">code execution<\/a> can lead to escalated privileges beyond that of the user&#8217;s current level. With these escalated privileges, the user can then perform unauthorized actions such as altering system configurations or accessing sensitive data, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-24351-remote-logging-vulnerability-in-ctrlx-os-can-lead-to-root-level-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42164\">leading to potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-2882312410\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Below is a conceptual example of how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47154-exploitation-of-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-libjs-in-ladybird\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42343\">vulnerability might be exploited<\/a>:<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># Locate the service path\nservice_path=$(wmic service get name,pathname | findstr \/i &quot;PowerSYSTEM Center&quot;)\n# Inject arbitrary code into the service path\necho &quot;malicious_code&quot; &gt; &quot;$service_path\\malicious_code.exe&quot;\n# Start the service, executing the arbitrary code with escalated privileges\nnet start &quot;PowerSYSTEM Center&quot;<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In the above pseudo-code, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-32819-remote-attacker-bypassing-path-traversal-checks-in-sma100\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"44113\">attacker first identifies the service path<\/a> for PowerSYSTEM Center. They then insert their malicious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-8356-path-traversal-vulnerability-in-xerox-freeflow-core-leading-to-remote-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"78841\">code into this path<\/a>. When the service is started, the malicious code is executed, leading to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-30390-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-azure\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"42311\">privilege escalation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Users of PowerSYSTEM Center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-47269-session-token-exposure-in-code-server-prior-to-version-4-99-4\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"46773\">versions 2020 Update 16 and prior<\/a> are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it is available. Until then, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as temporary mitigation to monitor and block potential exploit attempts. Regularly reviewing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-20653-microsoft-common-log-file-system-elevation-of-privilege-vulnerability\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"47662\">system and application logs<\/a> for any unusual activity can also help to detect potential exploits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview A high-severity vulnerability has been identified in PowerSYSTEM Center versions 2020 Update 16 and earlier versions. This vulnerability, designated as CVE-2023-6631, could potentially allow an authorized local user to insert arbitrary code into the unquoted service path and escalate their privileges. This could result in a significant impact on the security of the system, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-37323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37323"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71232,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37323\/revisions\/71232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=37323"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=37323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}