CVE-2023-38488: Getkirby/cms Field Injection Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x5mr-p6v4-wp93
CVSS 7.1
CWE-140 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-38488 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.1) field injection vulnerability (CWE-140: Improper Neutralization of Delimiters) affecting Getkirby/cms libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves field injection in the kirbydata text storage handler. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, 3.9.6.

CVE-2023-38488 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-38488
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x5mr-p6v4-wp93
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.1
CWE Classification CWE-140: Improper Neutralization of Delimiters
Affected Product Getkirby/cms
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.1

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-38488

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

getkirby/cms fixed: 3.5.8.3
Upgrade getkirby/cms to 3.5.8.3
getkirby/cms fixed: 3.6.6.3
Upgrade getkirby/cms to 3.6.6.3
getkirby/cms fixed: 3.7.5.2
Upgrade getkirby/cms to 3.7.5.2
getkirby/cms fixed: 3.8.4.1
Upgrade getkirby/cms to 3.8.4.1
getkirby/cms fixed: 3.9.6
Upgrade getkirby/cms to 3.9.6
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for getkirby/cms

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-38488, inspect your project dependencies for Getkirby/cms:

inspect dependencies for getkirby/cms

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Getkirby/cms in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.5.8.3), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-140: Improper Neutralization of Delimiters, where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes delimiters. In Getkirby/cms, 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

### TL;DR This vulnerability affects all Kirby sites that might have potential attackers in the group of authenticated Panel users or that allow external visitors to update a Kirby content file (e.g. via a contact or comment form). Your Kirby sites are *not* affected if they don't allow write access for untrusted users or visitors. ---- ### Introduction A field injection in a content storage implementation is a type of vulnerability that allows attackers with content write access to overwrite content fields that the site developer didn't intend to be modified. In a Kirby site this can be used to alter site content, break site behavior or inject malicious data or code. The exact security risk depends on the field type and usage. ### Impact Kirby stores content of the site, of pages, files and users in text files by default. The text files use Kirby's KirbyData format where each field is separated by newlines and a line with four dashes (`----`). When reading a KirbyData file, the affected code first removed the Unicode BOM sequence from the file contents and afterwards split the content into fields by the field separator. When writing to a KirbyData file, field separators in field data are escaped to prevent user input from interfering with the field structure. However this escaping could be tricked by including a Unicode BOM sequence in a field separator (e.g. `--\xEF\xBB\xBF--`). When writing, this was not detected as a separator, but during the read process the BOM was removed, turning the malicious line into a valid separator. This could be abused by attackers to inject other field data into content files. Because each field can only be defined once per content file, this vulnerability only affects fields in the content file that were defined above the vulnerable user-writable field or not at all. Fields that are defined below the vulnerable field override the injected field content and were therefore already protected. ### Patches The problem has been patched in [Kirby 3.5.8.3](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.5.8.3), [Kirby 3.6.6.3](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.6.6.3), [Kirby 3.7.5.2](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.7.5.2), [Kirby 3.8.4.1](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.8.4.1) and [Kirby 3.9.6](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.9.6). Please update to one of these or a [later version](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases) to fix the vulnerability. In all of the mentioned releases, we have fixed the affected code to only remove the Unicode BOM sequence at the beginning of the file. This fixes this vulnerability both for newly written as well as for existing content files. ### Credits Thanks to Patrick Falb (@dapatrese) at [FORMER 03](https://former03.de/) for responsibly reporting the identified issue.

CVE-2023-38488 Affected Getkirby/cms Versions

5 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.5.8.33.6.6.33.7.5.23.8.4.13.9.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
getkirby/cms
Packagist
< 3.5.8.3
3.5.8.3
getkirby/cms
Packagist
≥ 3.6.0
< 3.6.6.3
3.6.6.3
getkirby/cms
Packagist
≥ 3.7.0
< 3.7.5.2
3.7.5.2
getkirby/cms
Packagist
≥ 3.8.0
< 3.8.4.1
3.8.4.1
getkirby/cms
Packagist
≥ 3.9.0
< 3.9.6
3.9.6

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-38488?
CVE-2023-38488 is a security vulnerability in Getkirby/cms involving Field injection in the KirbyData text storage handler under CWE-140: Improper Neutralization of Delimiters.
Which Getkirby/cms versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, 3.9.6 across affected packages: getkirby/cms.
What version fixes CVE-2023-38488?
Upgrading to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, 3.9.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is getkirby/cms affected?
Yes, getkirby/cms is affected in releases prior to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, 3.9.6. Upgrade your dependency to 3.5.8.3, 3.6.6.3, 3.7.5.2, 3.8.4.1, 3.9.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-38488?
CVE-2023-38488 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-38488?
CVE-2023-38488 is classified under CWE-140: Improper Neutralization of Delimiters (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes delimiters.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-38488?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for getkirby/cms'. 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
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  "id" : "GHSA-x5mr-p6v4-wp93",
  "modified" : "2023-07-28T15:35:47Z",
  "published" : "2023-07-28T15:35:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-38488" ],
  "summary" : "Field injection in the KirbyData text storage handler",
  "details" : "### TL;DR\n\nThis vulnerability affects all Kirby sites that might have potential attackers in the group of authenticated Panel users or that allow external visitors to update a Kirby content file (e.g. via a contact or comment form).\n\nYour Kirby sites are *not* affected if they don't allow write access for untrusted users or visitors.\n\n----\n\n### Introduction\n\nA field injection in a content storage implementation is a type of vulnerability that allows attackers with content write access to overwrite content fields that the site developer didn't intend to be modified.\n\nIn a Kirby site this can be used to alter site content, break site behavior or inject malicious data or code. The exact security risk depends on the field type and usage.\n\n### Impact\n\nKirby stores content of the site, of pages, files and users in text files by default. The text files use Kirby's KirbyData format where each field is separated by newlines and a line with four dashes (`----`).\n\nWhen reading a KirbyData file, the affected code first removed the Unicode BOM sequence from the file contents and afterwards split the content into fields by the field separator.\n\nWhen writing to a KirbyData file, field separators in field data are escaped to prevent user input from interfering with the field structure. However this escaping could be tricked by including a Unicode BOM sequence in a field separator (e.g. `--\\xEF\\xBB\\xBF--`). When writing, this was not detected as a separator, but during the read process the BOM was removed, turning the malicious line into a valid separator. This could be abused by attackers to inject other field data into content files.\n\nBecause each field can only be defined once per content file, this vulnerability only affects fields in the content file that were defined above the vulnerable user-writable field or not at all. Fields that are defined below the vulnerable field override the injected field content and were therefore already protected.\n\n### Patches\n\nThe problem has been patched in [Kirby 3.5.8.3](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.5.8.3), [Kirby 3.6.6.3](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.6.6.3), [Kirby 3.7.5.2](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.7.5.2), [Kirby 3.8.4.1](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.8.4.1) and [Kirby 3.9.6](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.9.6). Please update to one of these or a [later version](https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases) to fix the vulnerability.\n\nIn all of the mentioned releases, we have fixed the affected code to only remove the Unicode BOM sequence at the beginning of the file. This fixes this vulnerability both for newly written as well as for existing content files.\n\n### Credits\n\nThanks to Patrick Falb (@dapatrese) at [FORMER 03](https://former03.de/) for responsibly reporting the identified issue.",
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  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38488"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/commit/a1e0f81c799ddae1af91cf37216f8ded9cb93540"
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    "url" : "https://github.com/getkirby/kirby"
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    "url" : "https://github.com/getkirby/kirby/releases/tag/3.9.6"
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  "database_specific" : {
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    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-07-27T15:15:11Z"
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}