Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2023-40044

In WS_FTP Server versions prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.2, a pre-authenticated attacker could leverage a .NET deserialization vulnerability in the Ad Hoc Transfer module to execute remote commands on the underlying WS_FTP Server operating system.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 10.0, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from progress organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2023, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2023-09-27T15:18:57.307

Last Modified

2025-10-31T21:59:31.170

Status

Analyzed

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 10.0 (CRITICAL)

Weaknesses

Type: Secondary
CWE-502
Type: Primary
CWE-502

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	progress	ws_ftp_server	< 8.7.4	Yes
Application	progress	ws_ftp_server	< 8.8.2	Yes

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174917/Progress-Software-WS_FTP-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://attackerkb.com/topics/bn32f9sNax/cve-2023-40044 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://censys.com/cve-2023-40044/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://community.progress.com/s/article/WS-FTP-Server-Critical-Vulnerability-September-2023 Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.assetnote.io/resources/research/rce-in-progress-ws-ftp-ad-hoc-via-iis-http-modules-cve-2023-40044 Exploit, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.progress.com/ws_ftp Product ([email protected])
https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2023/09/29/etr-critical-vulnerabilities-in-ws_ftp-server/ Broken Link, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/02/ws_ftp_update/ Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174917/Progress-Software-WS_FTP-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://attackerkb.com/topics/bn32f9sNax/cve-2023-40044 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://censys.com/cve-2023-40044/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://community.progress.com/s/article/WS-FTP-Server-Critical-Vulnerability-September-2023 Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.assetnote.io/resources/research/rce-in-progress-ws-ftp-ad-hoc-via-iis-http-modules-cve-2023-40044 Exploit, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.progress.com/ws_ftp Product (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2023/09/29/etr-critical-vulnerabilities-in-ws_ftp-server/ Broken Link, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/02/ws_ftp_update/ Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-40044 US Government Resource (134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For progress's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.