CVE-2023-48218: Strapi plugin protected populate Bypass Of Field Access Control Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-48218 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) bypass of field access control vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Strapi plugin protected populate libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves bypass of field access control in strapi-plugin-protected-populate. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.3.4.

CVE-2023-48218 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-48218
GHSA Identifier GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product Strapi plugin protected populate
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2023-48218

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Strapi plugin protected populate dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

strapi-plugin-protected-populate fixed: 1.3.4 
npm install strapi-plugin-protected-populate@1.3.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls strapi-plugin-protected-populate

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2023-48218, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls strapi-plugin-protected-populate

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Strapi plugin protected populate in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.3.4), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls strapi-plugin-protected-populate command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. In Strapi plugin protected populate, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact Users are able to bypass the field level security. This means fields that they where not allowed to populate could be populated anyway even in the event that they tried to populate something that they don't have access to. ### Patches This issue has been patched in 1.3.4 ### Workarounds None

CVE-2023-48218 Affected Strapi plugin protected populate Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.3.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
strapi-plugin-protected-populate
npm/strapi-plugin-protected-populate
npm
< 1.3.4
1.3.4

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/security/advisories/GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7
NVD — CVE-2023-48218 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-48218
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/commit/05441066d64e09dd55937d9f089962e9ebe2fb39
Strapi plugin protected populate Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate
Strapi plugin protected populate Release RELEASE
https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/releases/tag/v1.3.4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-48218?
CVE-2023-48218 is a security vulnerability in Strapi plugin protected populate involving Bypass of field access control in strapi-plugin-protected-populate under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which Strapi plugin protected populate versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.3.4 across affected packages: strapi-plugin-protected-populate.
What version fixes CVE-2023-48218?
Upgrading to 1.3.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is strapi-plugin-protected-populate affected?
Yes, strapi-plugin-protected-populate is affected in releases prior to 1.3.4. Upgrade your dependency to 1.3.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-48218?
CVE-2023-48218 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-48218?
CVE-2023-48218 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2023-48218?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls strapi-plugin-protected-populate'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7",
  "modified" : "2023-11-20T21:01:43Z",
  "published" : "2023-11-20T21:01:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-48218" ],
  "summary" : "Bypass of field access control in strapi-plugin-protected-populate",
  "details" : "### Impact\nUsers are able to bypass the field level security. This means fields that they where not allowed to populate could be populated anyway even in the event that they tried to populate something that they don't have access to.\n\n### Patches\nThis issue has been patched in 1.3.4\n\n### Workarounds\nNone\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "strapi-plugin-protected-populate"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.3.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/security/advisories/GHSA-6h67-934r-82g7"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-48218"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/commit/05441066d64e09dd55937d9f089962e9ebe2fb39"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/strapi-community/strapi-plugin-protected-populate/releases/tag/v1.3.4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-11-20T21:01:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-11-20T17:15:13Z"
  }
}