CVE-2023-38950

ZKTeco BioTime: Path Traversal

As of , CVE-2023-38950 in ZKTeco BioTime is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 19 May 2025
US federal deadline
9 June 202521 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.92Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
Public exploit
None foundNeither Metasploit nor Exploit-DB lists one.
Fix
Vendor advice: www.zkteco.comLinks below, from CISA's entry.

What CISA says to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

CISA's required action

What the flaw is

ZKTeco BioTime contains a path traversal vulnerability in the iclock API that allows an unauthenticated attacker to read arbitrary files via supplying a crafted payload.

CISA's description

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.

The CVE record's description, from mitre

CVE published
3 August 2023
Assigned by
mitre
CVSS
7.5 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
CWE-22
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
yes
CISA SSVC, technical impact
partial

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  3. The US federal deadline to fix it.

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