CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-32680NVD status: Modified

metabase: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2023-32680 is a critical-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in metabase, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected metabase versions: < 0.44.7; >= 1.0.0, < 1.44.7; >= 0.45.0, < 0.45.4, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of metabase you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Metabasemetabase< 0.44.7; >= 1.0.0, < 1.44.7; >= 0.45.0, < 0.45.4; >= 1.0.0, < 1.45.4; >= 0.46.0, < 0.46.3; >= 1.0.0, < 1.46.3Not stated

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
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

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

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.15.8MediumCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.19.6CriticalNVD

Official description

Metabase is an open source business analytics engine. To edit SQL Snippets, Metabase should have required people to be in at least one group with native query editing permissions to a database–but affected versions of Metabase didn't enforce that requirement. This lack of enforcement meant that: Anyone–including people in sandboxed groups–could edit SQL snippets. They could edit snippets via the API or, in the application UI, when editing the metadata for a model based on a SQL question, and people in sandboxed groups could edit a SQL snippet used in a query that creates their sandbox. If the snippet contained logic that restricted which data that person could see, they could potentially edit that snippet and change their level of data access. The permissions model for SQL snippets has been fixed in Metabase versions 0.46.3, 0.45.4, 0.44.7, 1.46.3, 1.45.4, and 1.44.7. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should ensure that SQL queries used to create sandboxes exclude SQL snippets.

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

The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
  • When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.

More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in metabase

All metabase vulnerabilities

Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities

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