Authenticated privilege escalation via unchecked role update
Published Feb 9, 2023 · Updated Mar 24, 2025
Privilege escalation in Cockpit CMS before 2.3.8 allows remote authenticated users to assign themselves an unauthorized role. The Users controller save method writes the submitted role to system/users without checking the app/users/manage permission. Any authenticated account able to save its profile can gain the permissions of the chosen role, including administrative access.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Cockpit CMS before 2.3.8 allows remote authenticated users to assign themselves an unauthorized role. The Users controller save method writes the submitted role to system/users without checking the app/users/manage permission. Any authenticated account able to save its profile can gain the permissions of the chosen role, including administrative access.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-0759
- Published
- Feb 9, 2023
- Updated
- Mar 24, 2025
- Vendor
- Cockpit HQ
- Product
- Cockpit CMS
- Classifications
- CWE-268, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 9, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 24, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <2.3.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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
- huntr.dev privilege-chaining proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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