CVE-2023-5256: Drupal/core Cache Poisoning Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rjqg-3h9m-fx5x
Share
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-5256 is a CRITICAL cache poisoning vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Drupal/core libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves cache poisoning in drupal/core. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 9.5.11, 10.0.11, 10.1.4.

CVE-2023-5256 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-5256
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rjqg-3h9m-fx5x
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Drupal/core
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2023-5256

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

drupal/core fixed: 9.5.11 
Upgrade drupal/core to 9.5.11
drupal/core fixed: 10.0.11 
Upgrade drupal/core to 10.0.11
drupal/core fixed: 10.1.4 
Upgrade drupal/core to 10.1.4
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 drupal/core

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2023-5256, inspect your project dependencies for Drupal/core:

inspect dependencies for drupal/core

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Drupal/core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 9.5.11), 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Drupal/core, 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

In certain scenarios, Drupal's JSON:API module will output error backtraces. With some configurations, this may cause sensitive information to be cached and made available to anonymous users, leading to privilege escalation. This vulnerability only affects sites with the JSON:API module enabled, and can be mitigated by uninstalling JSON:API. The core REST and contributed GraphQL modules are not affected.

CVE-2023-5256 Affected Drupal/core Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
9.5.1110.0.1110.1.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
drupal/core
 Packagist
≥ 8.7.0
< 9.5.11
9.5.11
drupal/core
 Packagist
≥ 10.0.0
< 10.0.11
10.0.11
drupal/core
 Packagist
≥ 10.1.0
< 10.1.4
10.1.4

References

NVD — CVE-2023-5256 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5256
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/1cd2741c2b43f6ad1bdfc121b8d9ec3b87e70742
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/5495dc530e3acd056478245bfe1828210c6da7dc
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/d4fe67562ee3ea0d9ecb9672d2945d94c5633d24
Drupal/core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/drupal/core
www.drupal.org/sa-core-2023-006 WEB
https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2023-006

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-5256?
CVE-2023-5256 is a security vulnerability in Drupal/core involving Cache poisoning in drupal/core under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Drupal/core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 9.5.11, 10.0.11, 10.1.4 across affected packages: drupal/core.
What version fixes CVE-2023-5256?
Upgrading to 9.5.11, 10.0.11, 10.1.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is drupal/core affected?
Yes, drupal/core is affected in releases prior to 9.5.11, 10.0.11, 10.1.4. Upgrade your dependency to 9.5.11, 10.0.11, 10.1.4 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-5256?
CVE-2023-5256 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2023-5256?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for drupal/core'. 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-rjqg-3h9m-fx5x",
  "modified" : "2023-12-20T21:01:00Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-28T21:30:58Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-5256" ],
  "summary" : "Cache poisoning in drupal/core",
  "details" : "In certain scenarios, Drupal's JSON:API module will output error backtraces. With some configurations, this may cause sensitive information to be cached and made available to anonymous users, leading to privilege escalation.\n\nThis vulnerability only affects sites with the JSON:API module enabled, and can be mitigated by uninstalling JSON:API.\n\nThe core REST and contributed GraphQL modules are not affected.\n\n\n\n",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "8.7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "9.5.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "10.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.0.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "10.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.1.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5256"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/1cd2741c2b43f6ad1bdfc121b8d9ec3b87e70742"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/5495dc530e3acd056478245bfe1828210c6da7dc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/drupal/core/commit/d4fe67562ee3ea0d9ecb9672d2945d94c5633d24"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/drupal/core"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2023-006"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-12-20T21:01:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-28T19:15:10Z"
  }
}