Authentication bypass in OpenText (Micro Focus) Enterprise Server
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 39/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.75% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 54% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- Fixed version: OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server 7.0.21, 8.0.10, 9.0.2.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server 7.0.21, 8.0.10, 9.0.2 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
User authentication with username and password credentials is ineffective in OpenText (Micro Focus) Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Server (including product variants such as Enterprise Test Server), versions 7.0 patch updates 19 and 20, 8.0 patch updates 8 and 9, and 9.0 patch update 1, when LDAP-based authentication is used with certain configurations. When the vulnerability is active, authentication succeeds with any valid username, regardless of whether the password is correct; it may also succeed with an invalid username (and any password). This allows an attacker with access to the product to impersonate any user. Mitigations: The issue is corrected in the upcoming patch update for each affected product. Product overlays and workaround instructions are available through OpenText Support. The vulnerable configurations are believed to be uncommon. Administrators can test for the vulnerability in their installations by attempting to sign on to a Visual COBOL or Enterprise Server component such as ESCWA using a valid username and incorrect password.
- Published
- Sep 12, 2023
- Updated
- Aug 4, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.8% · 54th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-253
Report tools
Action score
39
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.8%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 9.8
- CNA · OpenText
- 9.8
- agree
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| microfocus | cobol server | cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:cobol_server |
| microfocus | enterprise developer | cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:enterprise_developer |
| microfocus | enterprise server | cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:enterprise_server |
| microfocus | enterprise test server | cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:enterprise_test_server |
| microfocus | visual cobol | cpe:2.3:a:microfocus:visual_cobol |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microfocus cobol server7.0
- microfocus cobol server8.0
- microfocus cobol server9.0
- microfocus enterprise developer7.0
- microfocus enterprise developer8.0
- microfocus enterprise developer9.0
- microfocus enterprise server7.0
- microfocus enterprise server8.0
- microfocus enterprise server9.0
- microfocus enterprise test server7.0
- microfocus enterprise test server8.0
- microfocus enterprise test server9.0
- microfocus visual cobol7.0
- microfocus visual cobol8.0
- microfocus visual cobol9.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (OpenText). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server
- 7.0.19 and later · before 7.0.21affected · patch update
- 8.0.8 and later · before 8.0.10affected · patch update
- 9.0.1 and later · before 9.0.2affected · patch update
Same product
microfocus: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-32265Mitigations and availability of updates relating to security vulnerability in ESCWA component CVE-2023-32265.26Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server | 7.0.21 | Vendor (CNA) |
| OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server | 8.0.10 | Vendor (CNA) |
| OpenText Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, Enterprise Server | 9.0.2 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-253 · Incorrect Check of Function Return ValueCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.