cody: External Control of System or Configuration Setting
CVE-2023-46248 is a high-severity external control of system or configuration setting vulnerability in cody from Sourcegraph, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 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 cody versions: >= 0.10.0, < 0.14.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.26% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 70% of scored CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of cody you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcegraph | cody | >= 0.10.0, < 0.14.1 | Not 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
- 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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.0 | Critical | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
Cody is an artificial intelligence (AI) coding assistant. The Cody AI VSCode extension versions 0.10.0 through 0.14.0 are vulnerable to Remote Code Execution under certain conditions. An attacker in control of a malicious repository could modify the Cody configuration file `.vscode/cody.json` and overwrite Cody commands. If a user with the extension installed opens this malicious repository and runs a Cody command such as /explain or /doc, this could allow arbitrary code execution on the user's machine. The vulnerability is rated as critical severity, but with low exploitability. It requires the user to have a malicious repository loaded and execute the overwritten command in VS Code. The issue is exploitable regardless of the user blocking code execution on a repository through VS Code Workspace Trust. The issue was found during a regular 3rd party penetration test. The maintainers of Cody do not have evidence of open source repositories having malicious `.vscode/cody.json` files to exploit this vulnerability. The issue is fixed in version 0.14.1 of the Cody VSCode extension. In case users can't promptly upgrade, they should not open any untrusted repositories with the Cody extension loaded.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: External Control of System or Configuration Setting
One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Compartmentalize the system to have safe areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
- Because setting manipulation covers a diverse set of functions, any attempt at illustrating it will inevitably be incomplete. Rather than searching for a tight-knit relationship between the functions addressed in the setting manipulation category, take a step back and consider the sorts of system values that an attacker should not be allowed to control.
- In general, do not allow user-provided or otherwise untrusted data to control sensitive values. The leverage that an attacker gains by controlling these values is not always immediately obvious, but do not underestimate the creativity of the attacker.
More External Control of System or Configuration Setting vulnerabilities (CWE-15)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Recent External Control of System or Configuration Setting vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
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