CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-23623NVD status: Modified

electron: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-23623 is a critical-severity always-incorrect control flow implementation vulnerability in electron, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected electron versions: >= 22.0.0-beta.1, < 22.0.1; >= 23.0.0-alpha.1, < 23.0.0-alpha.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.66% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 52% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update electron to 22.0.1 or 23.0.0_alpha.2, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Electronelectron>= 22.0.0-beta.1, < 22.0.1; >= 23.0.0-alpha.1, < 23.0.0-alpha.2Not stated
Atomelectron22.0.0_beta.1 up to, but not including, 22.0.1; 23.0.0_alpha.1 up to, but not including, 23.0.0_alpha.222.0.1, 23.0.0_alpha.2

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.5HighCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD

Official description

Electron is a framework which lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. A Content-Security-Policy that disables eval, specifically setting a `script-src` directive and _not_ providing `unsafe-eval` in that directive, is not respected in renderers that have sandbox disabled. i.e. `sandbox: false` in the `webPreferences` object. This allows usage of methods like `eval()` and `new Function` unexpectedly which can result in an expanded attack surface. This issue only ever affected the 22 and 23 major versions of Electron and has been fixed in the latest versions of those release lines. Specifically, these versions contain the fixes: 22.0.1 and 23.0.0-alpha.2 We recommend all apps upgrade to the latest stable version of Electron. If upgrading isn't possible, this issue can be addressed without upgrading by enabling `sandbox: true` on all renderers.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation

The code contains a control flow path that does not reflect the algorithm that the path is intended to implement, leading to incorrect behavior any time this path is navigated.

More Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation vulnerabilities (CWE-670)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in electron

All electron vulnerabilities

Recent Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation vulnerabilities

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