Authenticated privilege escalation via mutable authority field
Published Mar 1, 2023 · Updated Jul 9, 2026
Privilege escalation in ThingsBoard 3.4.1 allows remote authenticated users with CUSTOMER_USER access to become TENANT_ADMIN or SYS_ADMIN. The /api/user REST endpoint accepts a POST body containing an attacker-controlled authority value and user identifier without enforcing the caller's lower role. Exploitation requires an existing CUSTOMER_USER account plus knowledge of the authority parameter and default user UUIDs, and successful abuse grants control over platform accounts and data.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in ThingsBoard 3.4.1 allows remote authenticated users with CUSTOMER_USER access to become TENANT_ADMIN or SYS_ADMIN. The /api/user REST endpoint accepts a POST body containing an attacker-controlled authority value and user identifier without enforcing the caller's lower role. Exploitation requires an existing CUSTOMER_USER account plus knowledge of the authority parameter and default user UUIDs, and successful abuse grants control over platform accounts and data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-45608
- Published
- Mar 1, 2023
- Updated
- Jul 9, 2026
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 1, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 9, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- Outpost24 ThingsBoard privilege-escalation recreation flowproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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