CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2023-45132NVD status: Modified

naxsi: Protection Mechanism Failure

CVE-2023-45132 is a critical-severity protection mechanism failure vulnerability in naxsi from Wargio, 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. The record lists version 1.6 as the first without the flaw, so updating naxsi to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.98% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 63% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update naxsi to 1.6 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
Wargionaxsi>= 1.3, < 1.6; 1.3 up to, but not including, 1.61.6

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 3.19.1CriticalCNA (github.com)
CVSS 3.19.8CriticalNVD

Official description

NAXSI is an open-source maintenance web application firewall (WAF) for NGINX. An issue present starting in version 1.3 and prior to version 1.6 allows someone to bypass the WAF when a malicious `X-Forwarded-For` IP matches `IgnoreIP` `IgnoreCIDR` rules. This old code was arranged to allow older NGINX versions to also support `IgnoreIP` `IgnoreCIDR` when multiple reverse proxies were present. The issue is patched in version 1.6. As a workaround, do not set any `IgnoreIP` `IgnoreCIDR` for older versions.

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

The underlying weakness: Protection Mechanism Failure

The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product.

More Protection Mechanism Failure vulnerabilities (CWE-693)

Timeline

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

References

Recent Protection Mechanism Failure vulnerabilities

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