CVE-2023-44381: October/system October CMS Safe Mode Bypass Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q22j-5r3g-9hmh
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CVSS 4.9
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-44381 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.9) october cms safe mode bypass vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting October/system libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves october cms safe mode bypass using page template injection. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.4.15.

CVE-2023-44381 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-44381
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q22j-5r3g-9hmh
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.9
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product October/system
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.9

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-44381

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

october/system fixed: 3.4.15 
Upgrade october/system to 3.4.15
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 october/system

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-44381, inspect your project dependencies for October/system:

inspect dependencies for october/system

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of October/system in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.4.15), 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-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In October/system, 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 An authenticated backend user with the `editor.cms_pages`, `editor.cms_layouts`, or `editor.cms_partials` permissions who would normally not be permitted to provide PHP code to be executed by the CMS due to `cms.safe_mode` being enabled can craft a special request to include PHP code in the CMS template. This is not a problem for anyone who trusts their users with those permissions to usually write & manage PHP within the CMS by not having `cms.safe_mode` enabled. Still, it would be a problem for anyone relying on `cms.safe_mode` to ensure that users with those permissions in production do not have access to write and execute arbitrary PHP. ### Patches This issue has been patched in v3.4.15. ### Workarounds As a workaround, remove the specified permissions from untrusted users. ### References Credits to: - [Vasiliy Bodrov](https://github.com/whatev3n) ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Email us at [hello@octobercms.com](mailto:hello@octobercms.com)

CVE-2023-44381 Affected October/system Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.4.15
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
october/system
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.4.15
3.4.15

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-q22j-5r3g-9hmh
NVD — CVE-2023-44381 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-44381
October/system Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/octobercms/october

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-44381?
CVE-2023-44381 is a security vulnerability in October/system involving October CMS safe mode bypass using Page template injection under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which October/system versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.4.15 across affected packages: october/system.
What version fixes CVE-2023-44381?
Upgrading to 3.4.15 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is october/system affected?
Yes, october/system is affected in releases prior to 3.4.15. Upgrade your dependency to 3.4.15 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-44381?
CVE-2023-44381 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-44381?
CVE-2023-44381 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-44381?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for october/system'. 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-q22j-5r3g-9hmh",
  "modified" : "2023-12-04T15:17:41Z",
  "published" : "2023-11-29T21:33:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-44381" ],
  "summary" : "October CMS safe mode bypass using Page template injection",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nAn authenticated backend user with the `editor.cms_pages`, `editor.cms_layouts`, or `editor.cms_partials` permissions who would normally not be permitted to provide PHP code to be executed by the CMS due to `cms.safe_mode` being enabled can craft a special request to include PHP code in the CMS template.\n\nThis is not a problem for anyone who trusts their users with those permissions to usually write & manage PHP within the CMS by not having `cms.safe_mode` enabled. Still, it would be a problem for anyone relying on `cms.safe_mode` to ensure that users with those permissions in production do not have access to write and execute arbitrary PHP.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis issue has been patched in v3.4.15.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nAs a workaround, remove the specified permissions from untrusted users.\n\n### References\n\nCredits to:\n- [Vasiliy Bodrov](https://github.com/whatev3n)\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Email us at [hello@octobercms.com](mailto:hello@octobercms.com)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "october/system"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.4.15"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-q22j-5r3g-9hmh"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-44381"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/octobercms/october"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-11-29T21:33:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-12-01T22:15:09Z"
  }
}