CVE-2023-22487
Post mentions can be used to read any post on the forum without access control
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 50th percentile. A vendor fix is available.
What to do
The vendor has published a fix. Version details are below where the sources state them.
What it is
From the CVE record
Flarum is a forum software for building communities. Using the mentions feature provided by the flarum/mentions extension, users can mention any post ID on the forum with the special `@"<username>"#p<id>` syntax. The following behavior never changes no matter if the actor should be able to read the mentioned post or not: A URL to the mentioned post is inserted into the actor post HTML, leaking its discussion ID and post number. The `mentionsPosts` relationship included in the `POST /api/posts` and `PATCH /api/posts/<id>` JSON responses leaks the full JSON:API payload of all mentioned posts without any access control. This includes the content, date, number and attributes added by other extensions. An attacker only needs the ability to create new posts on the forum to exploit the vulnerability. This works even if new posts require approval. If they have the ability to edit posts, the attack can be performed even more discreetly by using a single post to scan any size of database and hiding the attack post content afterward. The attack allows the leaking of all posts in the forum database, including posts awaiting approval, posts in tags the user has no access to, and private discussions created by other extensions like FriendsOfFlarum Byobu. This also includes non-comment posts like tag changes or renaming events. The discussion payload is not leaked but using the mention HTML payload it's possible to extract the discussion ID of all posts and combine all posts back together into their original discussions even if the discussion title remains unknown. All Flarum versions prior to 1.6.3 are affected. The vulnerability has been fixed and published as flarum/core v1.6.3. As a workaround, user can disable the mentions extension.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 50th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
5 events over 680 days, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Patch availableworkaround available, record updated
- Publishedweakness classified
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Scored 7.7 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required LowRequires basic user-level privileges
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
- Integrity NoneNo integrity impact
- Availability NoneNo availability impact
Weaknesses
Sources
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